I live in Port Charlotte, FL on a canal with access to the Myakka River near El Jobean, FL and Charlotte Harbor. I own a boat and I love to fish. I'm new to Florida so I'm learning a new kind of fishing and I thought a record of fish caught, weather, tides, etc. for each trip would help me to learn quicker. That record is what you'll find in my blog which I post as soon as I possibly can so check before you're going out, my success or failure might help make your trip more productive.
Fishing Myakka River/Charlotte Harbor, Florida Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Fish Caught: Redfish, Sheepshead, Lady Fish, Catfish, Mangrove Snapper
High Tide: 12:30 AM 1.9 FT Low Tide: 8:30 AM -0.9 FT Wind: 5-10 NE Air Temp: 42/71 Water Temp: Clarity:
It was kind of cool in the morning so we didn't leave the dock until nearly noon. My brother Fred and wife Ruth are down from Connecticut for a few days, so this was to be their day on the water. As it turns out they liked the first day a lot so it ran into two days and screwed up all the plans they had for the last days of their vacation. I can't blame them, after the cold weather we've had (nothing compared to theirs) it was perfect boat weather. Sunny, 75 degrees, with only a light breeze.
In the two days we used up 9 dozen live shrimp. As you can see from the photos it was only Fred and I feeding shrimp to the fish. Ruth was practicing to be a sun worshipper, following it around the boat with a book or a nap. Fred and Ruth are dog rescuers and Ruth was on the phone a lot trying to rescue dogs while on vacation. I did notice she'd take the time in every conversation to ask the weather the caller was experiencing and reporting her location, temperature and sunny comfort. "How is the weather there?… Oh, man, well it's 75 here, I'm on a boat, in a canal, in south west Florida…" Something us Floridians do regularly when talking to northern friends.
Fred did a lot of fishing in two days. We caught a lot of fish with our 9 dozen shrimp but mostly, as Ruth would be glad to tell you, we fed shrimp to many small sheepshead, mangrove snapper, catfish and redfish. There was rarely a dull moment, we were forever trying to set the hook on the little tap tap tap of the small, bait stealing sheepshead or snapper. But mostly we were helping them gain back their strength after the horrible weeks of cold weather. There are still fish dying in the canal, mostly sand perch. We also got to see a manatee which swam within 10 feet of us. It seemed like it was cold, surfacing very frequently and swimming very near the surface trying to get as much warmth from the sun as it could.
And we did manage to get a redfish over the 18 inch limit and a keeper sheepshead and we had a sudden run on mangrove snapper that were around 11 to 13 inches, so we did have some fish to clean when we got home.
But we could have done better at the fish market with the money spent on bait. But we would have had to find something else to do for two days and the cost of vacation would have been that much higher. So we're all sunburned and happy. At least Karen and I are, I checked the weather in Connecticut, where Fred and Ruth are home by now, it was only 5 degrees. I'll bet that sunburn looks a little out of place now, doesn't it Fred?
But it was a really nice visit, a great couple days on the water and we hope ya'll will come back soon.
Fish Caught: Redfish, Sheepshead, Trout, Catfish, Mangrove Snapper, Black Drum
High Tide: 10:00 AM 0.8 FT Low Tide: 1:30 PM 0.6 FT Wind: 10-20 E Air Temp: 59/77 Water Temp: Clarity:
I'm still here! It's been way too long since I last wrote, a lot has happened. I have had a few trips that I was unable to write about. I had a real bad attack of my old friend "Tennis Elbow." One of the things that aggravate this condition is my work on the computer. Just too many hours with a mouse in my hand. So I had to limit my computer time to necessary work only and much of that I did with only my left hand.
We also had a terrible cold snap. It lasted about 2 weeks and the worst day we hit a low of 25 degrees, yes that's Fahrenheit. They claim that beat the last record which was in 1976. The canal water was down around 50 degrees. Many fish were killed including many large snook. Our canal still has a dead odor and I see dead fish drifting back and forth with the tide. Mostly what they call sand perch but I did notice that the oysters that line the canal are mostly dead and that is where a lot of the odor is coming from.
But since my last post in november we've been out several times and I'll summarize those trips by saying there are a huge amount of redfish in the canal. I got one from my dock that went 27 inches but mostly they have been around 12 to 16 inches with an occasional keeper mixed in. But there are lots of them now around 15 inches and many trips we had spans where we would catch one with almost every cast. A lot of fun but of course it didn't put food on the table.
So, Saturday the weather was great so we left the dock by around 10:00 AM with a couple dozen shrimp. Within the first hour I hooked a nice redfish that went a little over the 18 inch minimum. But it was the only one all day, unlike the past trips. But the action was consistent with small sheepshead and mangrove snappers. A little later in the day Bimini and Julie tied up and joined our party and thats when the fishing got started.
There was a school of small spotted trout that were aggressively taking shrimp or plastic lures under a popper cork. I don't know how many I caught before I got tired of catching and releasing. There was a few sugar trout mixed in and one was big enough to throw in the cooler. Bimini and Julie were bottom fishing shrimp and catching small sheepshead, snapper and catfish when Bimini finally hooked into something much larger. We had the two boats lashed together and at that moment Bimini was alone on their boat with a very large fish, yelling for a net. The "Net Girl," Julie, grabbed my net and started to make the long step from my boat to hers. Bimini was so obviously in immediate need of the net that Julie set all caution aside and in her haste to get the net to where it was needed forgot completely about the icy cold water below.
No, she didn't go in, but we all still wonder why. I think Karen grabbed the other boat which was drifting farther away than Julie could stretch. But some how the "Net Girl," managed to gain secure footing and get the net under a nice, 20 inch, black drum. Once the congratulations were done and the fish was safely in the cooler we inspected the scuffed knees and purpling thighs of the "Net Girl," who will never live down this story and her new, self proclaimed, title. I think we need to make a full body leotard with "Net Girl," and maybe a cape. Although a cape may have been the last straw that put Julie in the water.
Bimini caught a second drum, a little smaller at 17 inches and we got a keeper sheepshead before we used up all the shrimp. So about 4:00 PM we head for the dock. Another very exciting, productive and wonderful day on the water.
Fish Caught: Redfish, Sheepshead, Lady Fish, Catfish, Mangrove Snapper
High Tide: 5:00 PM 1.3 FT Low Tide: 10:00 AM -0.4 FT Wind: 5-10 NW Air Temp: 53/80 Water Temp: Clarity: clear
We managed to get away mid afternoon for a few hours of fishing. The weather was so nice at about 80 degrees with a light wind we just couldn't resist. That and every one seems to be talking about the red fish that are biting all over this end of charlotte Harbor.
So I ran out for some shrimp and we were in the boat anchored at the end of the canal by the docks by about 2:30. It wasn't as wild as our last trip but we started catching small reds and mangrove snapper. A few very small sheepshead mixed in. It was a little slow so we moved around a bit. I was throwing a gold spoon and Karen and I each had shrimp out. We stopped by the mouth of a little reedy swampy area where I know there is an oyster bar. There was a lot of movement in the water but it was mostly mullet. The shrimp were doing nothing and I was about to suggest another move when a nice red hit my spoon. Doesn't it always seem to be when you least expect it. Well it woke me from whatever I was dreaming about and when we got it netted I knew it was close to slot sized. Sure enough, just over the 18 inch minimum, finally a red fish dinner.
As the sun got low it started getting a little chilly. The photo is the last thing we did before heading back to the dock to clean fish. Another great day on the water.
Fish Caught: Redfish, Sheepshead, Snook, Trout, Mangrove Snapper
High Tide: 6:00 AM 2.1 FT Low Tide: 3:00 PM 0 FT Wind: 20-30 E Air Temp: 62/84 Water Temp: Clarity: dark
Tom and Patty, a couple of Karen's cousins are down for a few days from the cold north. So we needed to squeeze in a fishing day even though the wind was outrageous. We took a few dozen shrimp and set out at 10:00 AM knowing we probably could not venture out in the open water of the Myakka river where the wind would lift us by the bimini top and fly us like a kite at the end of the anchor line.
Even our normal sheltered spots were very windy, I had to break out the bigger anchor to keep us on bottom. But we started catching fish with the first shrimp in the water, which was put out there by Tom. And it was a show stopper, I mean HE was a show stopper, the fish was a redfish about 13 inches long (Arlene, he had to throw it back because as you know the slot limit for redfish is 18 to 24 inches) but Tommy made us believe it was a six footer. I think he was really enjoying the spotlight since he had to leave his poor wife, Arlene, home to work. Tom had us running with the net for every little fish he caught, which was a lot. We caught so many redfish in the 10 to 14 inch range we lost count, I think we agreed it was at least 20 between us.
For a very long time we were getting bites on every cast and many resulted in some kind of fish in the boat. Mangrove snapper (many keepers and a few up in the 13-14 inch range) sheepshead (lots of small ones but 2 went 15 and 17 inches, huge for the canal), of course redfish. Patty started the day saying she wanted to relax and didn't need a fishing pole. But the heavy action got her out of her seat catching fish before too long. She didn't quite have Tom's enthusiasm, no one did, but I think she added her share to the dinner table.
After several hours the wind was getting very annoying so we moved back up the canal a ways and tied off on one of the markers. Bob and Cheryl, our neighbors up the canal were on their way to try some fishing so we had them tie up with us. Cheryl started right out with a small snook that she tossed back vowing the next would be a keeper. That never did happen but she did catch enough keeper snapper so they could have dinner. Bob did pretty well with the beer while keeping his feet elevated. And thats when Tom caught a trout which shocked us all. There haven't been many around this year, at least not up as far as El Jobean so to see one way up in the canal was surprising.
Somewhere around 3:00 everybody started running out of energy, wind and sun burned, hungry and thirsty we turned the boat home. The affects of 5 hours in 20-30 MPH winds didn't become apparent until we got in the shelter of the living room. It felt a little like sensory deprivation, so quiet and still. But we cleaned our sheepshead and snapper and blackened it on the grill and had a great dinner.
I think everyone had a great day on the water (except Robby and Arlene the worker bees at home) I know I did. I can't imagine getting on a plane and heading back north after a day like that, so I'm staying and I wish Patty and Tommy the best until our next fishing trip, you too Arlene and Rob!
Fish Caught: Redfish, Snook, Jack, Catfish, Mangrove Snapper, Stingray
High Tide: 2:05 AM 2.2 FT Low Tide: 10:20 AM -0.5 FT Wind: 5-10 NE Air Temp: 68/86 Water Temp: Clarity: dark
My two sisters, Judy and Kate, walked for breast cancer (Judy is a survivor) in Tampa last weekend. They were both very tired and struggling to walk on blistered feet, so they spent a couple days with us, one sitting by the pool and one sitting on the boat. As it turned out the day on the boat was not all that physically relaxing. A good thing!
We got Kate up and on the boat by 7:00 AM, a miracle I'm told. And we started right off catching small mangrove snapper and catfish. The bite was light and we fed a lot of those little thieves very well. We tried a couple spots and got a couple keepers one over 13 inches. We ended up by the docks at the end of the canal were we added several small reds and a very small snook to the tally.
It was a nice cool, lazy, breezy morning when an odd noise slowly caught everyone's attention. It sounded like the squall line of a big thunderstorm with the big heavy rain drops hitting the water and racing towards us. The sound increased in volume until we had to raise or voices to speak above it and the water came alive under the far end of the dock. The splashing spread out across the canal and came in our direction until we were surrounded by splashing, roiling water. It was such a vicious feeding frenzy we were actually getting wet sitting on my pontoon boat a good 2 feet off the water. And everyone hooked up with a jack varying from 9 to 12 inches long. Lots of fun. I wish I had my video camera so you could see and hear that approaching wall of white water. I've been around feeding jacks before but never such an aggressive bunch and never that close. You could hear them hitting the bottom of the boat, I'm sure the net would have picked up 3 or 4 per scoop if we'd wanted.
Of course it ended any other fishing as they passed. They continued to resurface in huge schools for the rest of the day. We motored out a short way into the canal and caught and released a few more before a guy stopped and asked what we were catching. When we told him he asked if he would be bothering us if he dropped his seine net next time they surfaced. We were anxious to watch and told him so and about 10 minutes later we got to see him in action. I think he said he's allowed 3 (maybe 4?), 500 ft nets on board. When the jacks showed themselves again he raced off to one side of the school and tossed one end of his net in. Then he circled around the outside of the school letting the net feed out until he circled back to the beginning. He then pulled both ends into his boat, tied one end off and started hauling the other end in. It looked like a tough job. He had a big u shaped area around the back of his boat that he put the net and fish in. It looked like a gill net, the fish were mostly stuck in it. We could see lots of jacks and lots of catfish. When he got the whole net in, about a half hour, he shoveled ice on top of it. We asked a few questions and found out he estimated that haul to be about $200-$300 worth of fish. He said it would take him 2-3 hours longer to get the fish out of the net. Each catfish would have to have all 3 of its sharp spiky fins cut off to get them free of the net. I assume he sells all this as bait to crabbers but we didn't get the chance to ask that. It was interesting to watch but we all had to wonder about taking so many fish in such a short time. But I guess we have the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission taking care of limits and fishing methods to preserve the fish at sustainable levels. I hope they know what they're doing. We wondered back home slowly, got a few more mangrove snapper for the cooler, trolled up a few more jacks and small reds and got back to the dock before 2 PM.
I think Kate and Judy got the kind of rest they needed. I know I had another great day on the water and look forward to seeing them again soon.
Fish Caught: Redfish, Sheepshead, Catfish, Mangrove Snapper, Stingray
High Tide: 11:30 AM 1.8 FT Low Tide: 8:00 PM 0.2 FT Wind: 5-10 NW Air Temp: 75/91 Water Temp: Clarity: murky
A few weeks back I helped my dad install a new door on his back porch. The new door replaced a storm door he had installed just a couple years ago and I had need for a storm door at my house. So my sister Kate was kind enough to bring the door in her new truck and my mom and dad came along for the ride and a short fishing trip.
I went down to El Jobean Bait & Tackle Shop about 6:30 AM and picked up 4 dozen live shrimp and a couple bags of frozen that I decided to try as chum. Mom, dad and Kate arrived, said hellos and toured the house and yard to see all the updates and dad and I rushed them into the boat. Even with two of us pushing it was a late start, we left the dock about 10:30 AM.
There were storm clouds to our south east so we decided to stay in the canal and out of the lightning. We dropped anchor and Kate got the first sheepshead within a minute. In the next half hour we caught sheepshead, mangrove snapper, catfish and a small redfish. All were way under keeper size except one sheepshead my dad caught that was an inch or two over the 12 inch minimum. Then the action just stopped and after a half hour without a bite we moved to another spot.
We tried several other spots over the next few hours and continued to catch small reds, snappers, sheepshead, catfish and rays. My mom hooked one huge ray which acted just like a big red for a while, a little bit of excitement. We even took a short ride out by Bird Key which is just out into the Myakka River. The tide was really rushing out fast out there, I think too fast for any fish to be hanging around, we didn't get a single bite.
So we headed back to the canal, stopped and played with little fish along the way and hit the docks by about 3:30. It's still too hot to be out there for too long. We were all tired and glad to be back in the cool house or pool. Its always nice to be on the water but its an especially a great day on the water when shared with family.
Fish Caught: Redfish, Sheepshead, Mangrove Snapper, Stingray
High Tide: 5:00 PM 2.0 FT Low Tide: 11:00 AM 0.5 FT Wind: 0-5 E Air Temp: 73/91 Water Temp: Clarity: muddy
So it's been about 8 weeks since my last fishing trip. That's just way too long, I hope to make up for the missing time in the next few months. I haven't been neglecting my favorite pastime, I started out for a fishing trip a couple times in July only to have problems with my outboard. Apparently the ethanol they now put in gas is not real good for outboard motors. And I own a 2003 Mercury which has a reputation of it's own for less than top quality fuel lines. So the fuel lines started dissolving and the gummy rubber got into all the internal parts of my motor. To make a long story short (and get on to fishing) I had to replace all the gas lines from the tank to the motor and all the internal lines including the fuel pump which also lost a few rubber grommets to the ethanol. I learned two things that might help you if you have a boat and are forced to use gas with ethanol, which you must because its hard to find it without ethanol.
There is a product called "Stabil" which is sold in Wal-Mart and most auto parts stores that you should add to ethanol based gas before using it in your boat. I also found my fuel pump online for half the price that I could get it at the marina. If you're looking for boat parts try ishopmarine.com.
So we left the dock about 6:45 AM with 4 dozen shrimp from El Jobean Bait & Tackle Shop. When we got to the end of the canal by the seawalls the water was glassy and I didn't see any sign of fish in the water at all. The tide was moving out fast so I drifted the length throwing Gulp swimming mullet and dragging a shrimp. It probably took a half hour to get down to the docks and I still had the same shrimp, not good.
So I dropped the anchor and let a shrimp drift under the docks. I started getting action from small mangrove snappers immediately and was pleasantly surprised to get redfish mixed in now and then. But everything was so small, not a single snapper was over the minimum 10 inches and the biggest red was only around 12 inches. But I caught a lot and it was fun.
Our canal was recently dredged and they put up a bunch of new markers on big poles. So the contour of the bottom is very different. I let the boat drift again and threw the Gulp and dragged the shrimp until I got a couple bites. I dropped anchor and threw some shrimp into an area that had never produced anything for me before. But the newly dredged channel comes up very close to the shore here and apparently the fish like the new terrain. I was catching small snapper and redfish on almost every cast. There were stingray and sheepshead mixed in too. It was a busy day but nothing to eat.
We made a run out to the El Jobean bridge for low slack tide to see if there might be some snook feeding when the tide turned in. But all I did there was leave a few hooks in the bridge, not a single bite.
The thunder started booming in the distance so we decided to call it a day. Lightning catches my attention a little more since our neighbors house was struck and burned a few weeks ago. We were back at the dock by around 12:30 just as the first spits of rain came down. It was a great day on the water, many more in the near future, I hope!
I have been waiting for you to post agan.Try the gas at Fishermans Villge marina, they have marine fuel wih no ethanol By Harry Mullica, At
September 7, 2009 11:54 AM
Thanks Harry, but it takes me over 2 hours to get to Fisherman's Village Marina in my boat from my dock. But the new gas lines I installed are of a material made to handle the new fuel and by adding stabil to the gas it stays good as long as gas without ethanol.
High Tide: 4:00 PM 2.2 FT Low Tide: 12:01 AM 0.0 FT Wind: 5-10 S Air Temp: 77/91 Water Temp: 85 Clarity: murky
Well, over a month with no fishing. I've got to stop letting that happen. But finally, we took the time to get back out even though it was only for a short time.
I ran to El Jobean Bait & Tackle Shop to greet them as they opened at exactly 6:00 AM and picked up a couple dozen nice fresh shrimp. So by 6:30 we were on the way down the canal.
As we got to the end of the Jupiter Waterway there was a lot of action on the water surface so we anchored and threw a Gulp Swimming Mullet at the swirls. But nothing was interested so I put a shrimp on with a small split shot and cast it in the deeper water. After catching 2 small catfish and not a lot of action we decided to move on.
I worked the Gulp hard passing through the sea walls and under the docks along the way but the only action was from very small Ladyfish. So we anchored and threw some shrimp at the docks.
That's when I started getting plenty of action. But only from very small mangrove snapper. I don't know how many I got in the boat, a lot. But only one was over the 10 inch minimum and that was only by 1/2 inch.
By about 10:00 AM I'd used up my shrimp and it was already getting hot, even though the south wind was really picking up and we got a few light sprinkles of rain. So we turned towards home, another nice day on the water.
As I was writing this I got to talk to one of my neighbors that is on vacation this week. And he spent a lot of his free time out on his boat. He has been having no luck with fish all week. I checked the Waterline Magazine and it seems its been a tough week for fishing for almost everyone. But, that usually turns around with a great day of fishing, I hope I'm on the water for that!
Fish Caught: Mangrove Snapper, Spanish Mackerel, Catfish
High Tide: 1:00 PM 2.0 FT Low Tide: 6:30 AM 0.9 FT Wind: 0-5 E Air Temp: 70/87 Water Temp: 82 Clarity: murky
My Dad had open heart surgery about 5 months ago so he's been working hard at getting back up to par. He finally felt strong enough to spend a day on the water so he and Mom came out for a few days and today was our fishing day.
I got 4 dozen shrimp from El Jobean Bait & Tackle Shop and we got on the water by about 7:30 AM. My Dad really likes to fish for trout and I'd heard of a spot they were getting them recently. It's out just a little past the El Jobean bridge and we went right there and made a couple drifts through the area. But there was nothing there.
So we moved back to the bridge and anchored so we could drift the shrimp, on the incoming tide, into the it. We immediately started catching mangrove snapper. The first was a monster 14 inch fish but after that they were mainly under 10 inches (10 inches is the minimum limit) and while we got an awful lot of snapper, I was catching one on every cast for about an hour, we only ended up with 5 keepers. A nice supper for 4 people.
I also was just starting to retrieve a shrimp that had drifted past the snapper zone when something grabbed it and I hooked it. It seemed obviously different than the snappers and we finally netted a nice big 18 inch spanish mackerel. We've found these are very tasty when pan blackened so we added it to the cooler.
There were a lot of dolphin in the area and my Mom spotted a couple playing just on the other side of the bridge. They were jumping several feet out of the water and splashing back. They continued to do this several times after Mom pointed them out to us. It must be a good life as a dolphin in Charlotte Harbor.
We went through our shrimp very quickly with all the snapper action and it was beginning to get a little warm so we headed back to the dock by around 11:30 AM. Another great day on the water, one of many more I hope to spend out there with my folks.
I was fishing the Charlotte Harbor reef the other day and caught what I thought was a Spanish mackerel,but something just did'nt look right I checked the fish I D site and it was a cero.the meat was lighter and it tasted very good. tight lines Harry By Harry Mullica, At
June 7, 2009 9:14 PM
Hi Harry, Thanks for the note. I'd never even heard of a cero mackerel before but I also just went to the fish ID site for FWC and you may be right. What I caught may have been a cero. Unfortunately I did not take a photo but I did look at that mackerel a few times to be sure it was not a small king, something just seemed different about it. By twlack, At
June 8, 2009 6:44 AM
High Tide: 2:00 PM 1.75 FT Low Tide: 8:00 AM 0.5 FT Wind: 0-5 S Air Temp: 66/89 Water Temp: 75 Clarity: clear
I was sitting on our dock yesterday when my neighbor, Bimini, was bringing her Mom and Dad in from a day of fishing. They had spent the day trying to catch spadefish from under a dock where they'd stumbled on a large school with some large fish. I'd only caught them accidentally and they were always small so when Bimini asked if I'd want to go back with her in the morning I couldn't resist.
I went down to El Jobean Bait & Tackle Shop a little before 6 Am and picked up 4 dozen shrimp and by 6:30 we were on our way down the canal in Bimini's boat. When we got in site of the sea walls the water was alive. So we cut the engine and drifted on the outgoing tide casting Gulp and drifting some big shiners caught from the Venice pier.
Bimini had several misses on her shiner and I cast my Gulp in front of a big, fast moving wake and hooked up with a nice big jack that kept me busy for the next 5 minutes. We got a couple rays and catfish and when we reached the end of the canal the tide was just turning in so we headed back to drift some shrimp under the docks. We immediately spotted a school of spadefish feeding on jellyfish delivered to them by the incoming tide. I can say that's what they were eating now because once we started catching them, each one would regurgitate a small pile of jellyfish onto the deck of the boat. I had never known any fish to eat jellyfish but I did some Googling and found it is a favorite food of the spadefish. I'd noticed my last trip out there seemed to be a lot of jellyfish in the water, I guess that's why the spadefish have moved inshore so far.
Bimini had spent a day already catching these fish so she told me what I needed to do. A smallish hook with a 3rd of a medium shrimp and the shrimp had to be shelled first. She also said a steel leader but I couldn't get myself to use a steel leader with such a small hook. What fish is ever going to take that bait that was so obviously attached to a big bulky steel leader, right? Well after hooking several spadefish and having them wrap my line around the docks pilings and snapping me off I accepted Bimini's steel leader. We got a lot of spadefish after that, letting many smaller ones go (no size or bag limits) and keeping the larger, platter sized fish you see in the photo.
Here's the best spadefish catching story of the day. They are extremely strong fish. They turn that wide body against the water and they go just about anywhere they want and you better hold on to your rod with two hands. So once you managed to hook one (they nibble at the shrimp until there is just a tiny piece left) the big ones just run right under the dock and around and around the pilings. I hooked a good one and it ran three times around the piling nearest the boat until I could no longer see or even feel him on my line. So Bimini runs to the back of the boat and puts slack in the anchor line while yelling to me to let my line slack. She runs back up and moves the boat right up to the dock piling and tells me to hand the pole under the dock to her. After we did this 3 times the line was still snagged in the barnacles and oysters, it wouldn't unwind any further and I still couldn't feel a fish. So I dipped the rod down under the water and started trying to untangle it from the pole when suddenly the spadefish burst out from under the dock and the line came free from everything. My thirty pound mono leader would have been useless under those conditions. I'm surprised my 20 lb. Power Pro Spectra braided line held, I don't think Fireline would hold up to that abrasion. But we netted the fish.
When the tide really got moving fast the spadefish moved off and we started feeding the little mangrove snapper that are almost always there. I got three that were between 11 and 13 inches which is a nice size for eating.
We drifted on the tide for a while throwing Gulp and floating a couple of the big shiners. A big shark hit Bimini's but it quickly spit the hook and we couldn't seem to hook it again even though we saw it a few more times. The bait was pretty lively and that shark gave up trying to catch him even on a cork.
So by about 2:30 we were tired and still had to clean fish so we headed home. Another great day on the water.
The spadefish was good eating. We blackened it, the taste is great, the meat is a little mushy in texture but overall very good blackened. I'll gladly spend another day fighting with the spadefish.
Fish Caught: Sheepshead, Mangrove Snapper, Skate/Ray
High Tide: 7:00 PM 1.75 FT Low Tide: 11:55 AM 0.75 FT Wind: 10-20 SW Air Temp: 57/86 Water Temp: 74 Clarity: murky
Our friends from Connecticut, Tom and Arlene, are here in Florida to get a little relief from the long winter they endured up north. They're staying with Tom's Mom and Dad and during a wonderful lasagna dinner last night we met Tom's brother Robin and his wife Patty who are also on vacation from New York. We had a wonderful evening and planned to go out fishing the next morning, so Tom & Arlene and Robin & Patty where knocking on our door a little before 10:00 AM Sunday morning. We decided to catch the low slack to incoming tide at the El Jobean bridge to see if the snook would be feeding so we went straight out there. It was much nicer day than the last time Tom and Arlene were with us and anchoring at the bridge was a simple matter. I had 4 dozen shrimp and half a dozen pass crabs from the El Jobean Bait & Tackle Shop and we started throwing them and a Gulp white swimming mullet at the bridge. It was slow at first on the outgoing tide but as the tide turned in we saw a little more action. Arlene was the first to land a fish, the 10 inch mangrove snapper you see in the photo. Tom was holding it while trying to stay out of the photo because Arlene didn't want to touch it. A seasoned fisherwomen knows how to bait hooks and remove fish with little more than a flash of a smile, while keeping her hands completely unsoiled.
I had a monster hit on my Gulp in the open water between the bridge and the boat, after giving it some thought I suspect it was a shark because the line was cut cleanly off. When the tide turned in I tried the pass crabs and on my second cast, the crab was right up near the bridge with a small sinker when something that felt large picked it up and took off. I gave it a few seconds, tightened the line and set the hook. I had a nice sized fish on, I was fairly certain I had the snook I'd come here for. But I could also tell it was near or in the encrusted cement bridge piling and in just about 5 seconds the line cut. I fished the rest of the crabs with no luck.
Tom caught a fish I'd never heard of before, a toadfish. I don't know why but he knew the name and I Googled it just to be sure. Here's a link to Wikipedia's Toadfish page. Its an ugly looking fish which we threw back.
It was slow at the bridge so we moved back to the canal. Tom got a 10 inch mangrove snapper and a stingray but mostly we just fed the tiny snappers. Karen was feeding some huge blue crabs and we tried to get them into the net but they were too quick for us. We tried a couple spots in the canal but it was a slow fishing day. I think Monday or Tuesday would be the day to go out with a front coming down for Tuesday afternoon. But I have to get back to work so get out there if you can and let me know if my prediction is right.
About 3:30 we headed back home, a few of the snowbirds sporting bright red patches of skin. We all shared the 2 mangrove snappers for supper, but had to supplement it with burgers and salads and wine and beer. But I think a good time was had by all, I know it was a fun day for me and we'll look forward to Tom, Arlene, Robin and Patty coming back next year. Oh, and we ended the evening by standing in the yard and watching the space shuttle launch. It was kind of an anticlimax and it wasn't long after that I gave in to the long day and was sound asleep on the couch.
Fish Caught: Redfish, Snook, Lady Fish, Jack, Mangrove Snapper, Catfish
High Tide: 6:30 PM 1.1 FT Low Tide: 12:01 PM -0.75 FT Wind: 20-30 S Air Temp: 53/77 Water Temp: Clarity: murky
My neighbor, Bimini, asked if I'd like to go out fishing with her. Of course, even though I have an awful lot of work to do, I couldn't say no to that offer. Bimini is know for her fish catching abilities and I wanted to learn anything I could from her.
So I ran down to El Jobean Bait & Tackle Shop and got some shrimp, packed up some lunch and fishing gear and stood on my dock with my thumb out. Bimini slowed as she passed my dock (she didn't want to waste any fishing time) and I jumped aboard..
The tide was rushing out when we reached the end of the canal. We anchored up so we could drift our shrimp under the docks and started feeding little mangrove snappers. In the first couple hours, on a tide running out very quickly, we caught several small snapper, Bimini got a redfish that was just over the 18 inch minimum by 1/2 inch, a small snook, a huge jack and finally a very nice snook that was about keeper size. It took me a while to get the hook out so I didn't take the time to measure it before returning it to the water but I'd guess about 27 inches.
When the tide turned in we moved to the upstream side of a very shallow oyster bar and anchored so we could drift our shrimp over the bar to a deeper trough. I got tired of feeding shrimp to the little snappers and switched to throwing a white Gulp Swimming Mullet. The wind was really blowing out of the south by now and the tide was moving in extremely fast. The water was all churned up and we kept seeing these big swirls and tails flashing in the chop. Finally my casting efforts paid off and I hooked up with a nice big snook and a real fighter. I got him to the boat twice only to have him take off again dancing on the water before he at last gave in on the 3rd approach and Bimini scooped him in the net. He was hooked right in the corner of the mouth so we took a few seconds to measure him at 31 inches and then got him right back in the water. I'll come back looking for him again when snook season opens.
I got one more snook about 25 inches before the rain came and we headed for the dock tired and cold and smiling from ear to ear. Another great day on the water.
Fish Caught: Redfish, Lady Fish, Mangrove Snapper, Skate/Ray
High Tide: 6:00 PM 1.0 FT Low Tide: 10:00 AM -1.0 FT Wind: 0-5 S Air Temp: 46/79 Water Temp: Clarity: murky
It's been hard to find time to get out on the water lately, too much work and other events. But I've been told redfish are all over the Myakka River, Charlotte Harbor area so I just decided today was the day to get away from responsibilities and GO FISHING!
So I went down the the El Jobean Bait & Tackle Shop and picked up a few dozen shrimp. Randy and Patricia, the owners, are wonderful, hard working people and they love fishing. I was surprised to see fiddler crabs and pass crabs (new to me) among the very healthy shrimp and pinfish. Patricia threw a few fiddlers and pass crabs in my bucket of shrimp to let me try them.
We left the dock about 2:15 PM and headed down to the end of the canal. The tide was very low and there were several other boats out there already but we got into one of our favorite low water areas and drifted bait over the oyster bar. Action was immediate but it seemed we were just feeding some very small Mangrove Snappers. Most just stripped the shrimp and the few I got in the boat were well below the 10 inch minimum. I finally did get one that went about 12 inches, great eating fish.
The pass crabs and especially the fiddler crabs got gobbled up within minutes of reaching the bottom. I never managed to hook anything with them but by the bite I'm guessing it was the master thieves, the mangrove snapper, that was feeding heartily on the crabs. I'll definitely try them again but the pass crabs are a little too expensive for me at $20.00/dozen. Patricia says they are used mostly for tarpon down in the passes around Boca Grande although I imagine if tarpon is what you want to catch they are around the El Jobean bridge quite often. And I would think big snook, redfish, sheepshead and grouper would love these little crabs as well. I only had a couple and they were taken from my hook quickly.
I poled the boat around some and finally found the redfish in the shallows. I missed a couple nice hits but did finally get my one keeper, just over the 18 inch minimum which we'll enjoy with our snapper for dinner. As the sun was setting a huge moon came up directly over the other end of the canal. We headed right into it on our way home about 6 PM, another wonderfully relaxing afternoon on the water.
Fish Caught: Sheepshead, Snook, Catfish, Mangrove Snapper
High Tide: 5:00 AM 2.0 FT Low Tide: 1:15 PM -0.5 FT Wind: 5-10 NE Air Temp: 57/82 Water Temp: Clarity: murky
Finally the weather and work load matched up and we managed an afternoon of fishing. We left the dock about 10:30 AM and with a couple dozen shrimp from El Jobean Bait & Tackle. We'd heard there were sheepshead down by the seawalls at the end of our canal.
We stopped at several different holes and along the seawall and fed small mangrove snapper and catfish getting only a few small ones in the boat. There was a lot of action on one of the shallow points near a hole that was about 5 feet deep today. It was a very low tide so I was looking for deeper holes to be holding fish. I cast a red and white Heddon - Zara Puppy up near the action and enticed a nice little snook to take it. But he was very small and out of season anyway.
Then we anchored next to a dock that I know has a fairly deep hole under it. The tide was rushing out and that dragged our shrimp under the boat lift. And that's where the sheepshead were. For the next hour we pulled several in the boat and managed to get 2 over the 12 inch minimum size limit.
There were also plenty of small mangrove snapper and a few very small catfish so we were very busy for that hour and then the fish just turned off. We roamed around for a while throwing the popper and remaining shrimp here and there with very little action. We did see a couple manatee in the small lake that's off Jupiter Waterway.
We finally used up our shrimp and headed home to fix our sheepshead dinner, another wonderfully relaxing afternoon on the water.
Fish Caught: Sheepshead, Snook, Lady Fish, Mangrove Snapper
High Tide: 5:00 AM 2.5 FT Low Tide: 2:00 PM -0.25 FT Wind: 5-10 NW Air Temp: 66/88 Water Temp: 81 Clarity: normal
We had a little cool front come through overnight. It turned the afternoon into a spectacular warm sunny but not too humid day. So we had lunch packed up the boat and headed down the canal.
I didn't go out for shrimp so I took a bag of menhaden out of the freezer, some extras I had from a preivious trip. When we got down to the end of the canal I could see bait up in the shallows being chased by something small. So I poled up there and threw my cast net over them. I got a few smallish silver jennys, some striped mojara, better than frozen and a couple sheepshead, which of course I let go. The water was very shallow and still going out so we went out were there's a little deeper channel and anchored for a while. I had something pretty good sized pick up a frozen menhaden, but I lost it.
When the tide started going slack, around 1:45 we moved over by the docks to drift under them on the incoming tide. As soon as the tide turned in the water came alive. Something was chasing the bait around under the dock and up the shoreline. I got a couple mangrove snapper on my live bait and fed a few with my frozen bait. The Gulp swimming mullet did nothing at all so I started changing lures. I threw a blue Rapala swimmer, some smaller silver swimmers and finally put on a Heddon Zara Puppy, topwater. That hit the water and I let it sit still for about 15 seconds to get a little closer to the dock. As soon as I twitched it just a couple times a streak came out from under the dock and smashed it. It was a small snook, real small, about a foot long. A got another similar and missed a couple and then a small ladyfish.
I put the ladyfish on a big hook and tossed it back in. It swam around for a while as I tried to coax it into a deep hole I know of under the dock. Well it finally swam down where I wanted it and it suddenly felt much bigger than a tiny ladyfish. I tightened my line and it started moving out from under the dock and up along the edge. I gave it some time to get that ladyfish swallowed and then set the hook. Whatever it was turned directly under the dock and around the far piling and hooked me up solid. I held the line tight for a while then let it slack. When I put tension on the line again it came free and I got back one dead and beaten ladyfish. Most of the scales were gone from its back and it was kind of crunched up.
That was the excitement for another beautiful day on the water. We were back at the dock by about 5:00 pm.
Fish Caught: Sheepshead, Lady Fish, Trout, Catfish, Mangrove Snapper, Skate/Ray
High Tide: 3:45 PM 2.1 FT Low Tide: 9:45 AM 0.5 FT Wind: 5-10 S Air Temp: 75/91 Water Temp: 83 Clarity: coffee
Hurricane Ike has had our tides running very high with lots of wind and sudden bands of thunderstorms which kept us off the water. Our dock actually had water on top of it a couple times this week, I've never seen that before. What a storm, we watched the broadcasts from Galveston with some relief but also with a great deal of sympathy.
But it was finally a more normal September day so we decided to get out for some fishing. I went out early to get shrimp and when I brought it down to the dock a little before sunrise there was a lot of action in the water. I put on a Gulp and cast at some of the noisy spots only to scare some large schools of mullet. But there was something bigger out there but I never did get a hit except for something very small which appeared to be a small trout. I never got it out of the water except that it jumped to get lose of the hook.
So we left the dock about 8:30 AM stopping a couple times along the way to cast a Gulp with no luck. We finally anchored near the docks about 9:30. The tide seemed to have turned in a little early so we were already on the incoming. I started getting small, snapper like hits, immediately. I got about 3 small snapper and 4 or 5 nice sized sheepshead in the boat while missing quite a few. The sheepshead went from about 10 inches up to about 13. We don't like sheepshead so we didn't keep any even though at least 3 were over the 12 inch minimum.
I caught several large rays which I wished to be redfish as I was yelling for the net, but they were rays everytime. There were a few catfish and the lady fish were around most of the day but they did their aerial displays and spit the hook everytime. I would have kept a couple for my crab traps which have been drydocked far too long.
Another fun day on the water, plenty of action but nothing to show for dinner. Next time!
Fish Caught: Sheepshead, Mangrove Snapper, Skate/Ray, Snook
High Tide: 5:30 PM 2.0 FT Low Tide: 11:30 AM 0.5 FT Wind: 10-20 E Air Temp: 79/93 Water Temp: 83 Clarity: coffee
Had to go back to see if that big fish my Dad missed a couple days ago was still there. We left the dock about 8:30 AM, a little late because the tides were late and I really wanted to catch the turn to incoming tide at about 11:30. We made a stop up near the end of the Jupiter Waterway where I threw the Gulp Swimming Mullet at the pepper trees while letting a shrimp drift with a tiny split shot.
The shrimp didn't get much action but was picked apart after 15 minutes by some tiny fish. I really wanted to save them for that big redfish. But I did get a nice snook on the Gulp. Although well below legal size at about 22 inches long, but they are still fun at that size.
About 10:00 we moved out towards the end of the Apollo Waterway and drifted the sea walls, still on an outgoing tide. I got a couple taps on the Gulp but not much action. At about 11:00 I moved to the spot where I hoped to find some redfish when the tide turned in. I like to get anchored and quiet a half hour early. But, because of the east wind the tide was late and it turned out we were very early. I got a couple small sheepshead and mangrove snapper, especially when the tide had slowed to almost slack. But it hung there for a long time before finally turning back in. That's when the action started.
I had just lost a shrimp to a small fish when I saw tail swirls and a wake under the dock. I got a shrimp back on and into the current which had finally started moving in with some pace. The split shot wasn't enough to hold bottom so I let the shrimp bounce along the front edge of the dock and about 25 feet down I felt a nice hit. It was another snook right around 20 inches. For the next hour or so I played with feeding mangrove snapper, sheepshead and snook. I got 3 more snook into the boat before the action just stopped. One of our neighbors, Bob, fished his way down to us just before I got the last snook. He anchored a ways up and I saw him catch a similar snook, it looked like on some kind of lure, but I couldn't see what kind. But I was down to 2 shrimp and those 2 lasted quite a while. I think the tide just got moving too fast. So about 2:30 we headed home, again with no fish for supper but an exciting day on the water.
Fish Caught: Redfish, Sheepshead, Lady Fish, Trout, Catfish, Mangrove Snapper, Skate/Ray
High Tide: 4:00 PM 2.25 FT Low Tide: 10:00 AM 1.0 FT Wind: 10-20 NE Air Temp: 75/91 Water Temp: 84 Clarity: dark
It's been about 5 weeks since the last trip out on the boat, too long. And we almost got canceled again because of Hurricane Gustav. But we left the dock about 9:15 with my Dad, my sister Kate and her husband James looking forward to a quiet day of fishing in the canal. Not too far from home because the weather wasn't looking very gentle.
We had menhaden, shrimp and a brand new bucket of 4" Gulp Swimming Mullet. We stopped in the Apollo Waterway at the very end of the ebbing tide. The shrimp proved productive immediately but only small bites including a sheepshead about 10 inches long. When the tide turned in we went over to the docks where we could drift the shrimp underneath. There were a lot of small snapper, a ladyfish and generally bait stealing pests. We were about to pick up and move when my Dad cast in one more shrimp.
I happened to look over at him when his pole was almost yanked from his grip. I watched as he reared back and set the hook into something that didn't seem to slow down at all against the pull of 30 lb Fireline and a tight drag on a Penn 450SS. I could see by the bend in the pole and the speed of the line peeling out that he had the big red we'd come here to catch. I yelled "Net" and then watched as the tiny wake from the line zipping thru the water headed back under the dock, around a piling and, with a huge swell of water, snapped. It was all over in 15 seconds or less. But we've talked about that 15 seconds for an accumulated 4 hours since then. We've decided it was a redfish at least 30 inches, maybe bigger.
We made several other stops without getting too far from the canal. The sky looked threatening and the water outside the canal was starting to show signs that Gustav was exerting some influence on it. We only managed some rays and small catfish and a trout that was 1 inch shy of the 15 inch size limit.
Finally the rain got too hard and lightning started showing on the horizon so we started back home with nothing in our cooler for dinner but a great fish story and a fishing spot to look forward too in the near future.
Everyone agreed it was another great day on the water and we're all enjoying razzing my Dad for losing that fish! Dam what a fish.
High Tide: 7:15 AM 1.3 FT Low Tide: 11:20 AM 1.0 FT Wind: 0-5 E Air Temp: 75/93 Water Temp: 85 Clarity: murky
We got a nice early start leaving the dock about 6:00 AM with a nice comfortable 75 degrees and a nearly full moon. We weren't sure we'd go so we had no bait but managed to net some white bait from the canal on the way out. There has been lots of small bait, about 3/4 to 1.5 inches long, in the canal and around sun up they swim right on the waters surface in small schools making them easy to spot and net. Although it is a lot of work to throw that big net to catch 6 fish at a time but I got a couple dozen in the live well and worked up a good appetite which I sated on the remainder of the trip with my P&J sandwich.
It was just about sun up when we reached the sea walls at the end of the canal and I started throwing my Gulp Swimming Mullet at the fish that are always snapping against the walls at this hour. We were within about 6 feet of the sea wall when a school of something started popping up against the wall right in front of me. I flipped my Gulp against the wall about 6 inches above the water and it dropped in to the white water. A tiny twitch and something grabbed it. It didn't feel very big for a few seconds but then I guess it realized it was hooked and off it went. Under the boat, around the motor with me chasing behind feeding the pole around the bimini top, under the pontoon, down under the motor and I still had a fish on when I finally got free of the boat. It was still a battle but we finally netted a nice big Jack.
I threw the Gulp and drifted the white bait under a bobber for another hour or so with just couple tiny hits on both. So we decided to head to the El Jobean bridge to see what was going on out there. We haven't been out there much lately opting to spend a little less money for gas, but it was a beautiful morning so we made the trip.
Which wasn't worth the effort. I fed my bait to tiny mangrove snapper only managing to get one in the boat. We did see tarpon rolling under the bridge more than a few times. And a school of Jacks exploded the water right in the middle of the waterway under the bridge but I was too far away to reach them.
After I used up my bait we headed back to the canal and stopped at a few favorite spots to cast the Gulp. It was just a lazy hot summer day on the water and we got back to the dock about 11:00 AM for a quick swim to cool off before cleaning the boat. Another pleasant morning on the water.
Fish Caught: Lady Fish, Sail Cat, Mangrove Snapper, Skate/Ray
High Tide: 4:30 PM 2.5 FT Low Tide: 9:30 AM 1.2 FT Wind: 0-5 SE Air Temp: 71/90 Water Temp: Clarity: murky
My neighbor and good friend, Bimini, went out yesterday around lunch time and got chased back into our canal by the strong thunderstorms that started popping up. But before she ran for cover she hit a large school of redfish feeding in the mouth of the canal. She landed two small ones and broke the line on what she says was an easy keeper, maybe over slot limit.
So, this morning she headed out early and I happened to be on the dock. She twisted my arm, I grabbed my gear and we were off. We both had things to take care of for the 4th's celebration and agreed to be back by around nine. But we were too early for the fishing, the tide was wrong and the wind was not drifting us the way we wanted to go. There were plenty of tiny mangrove snapper but only one keeper. I also caught about 6 stingray and a ladyfish. Bimini brought in a very, very large sail cat. We thought it was a shark the way it was attacking her bobber and live bait.
With the 4th we both have places to be and people to see but I hope we'll time that tide better in the next few days to find those reds feeding on the flats. There has been lots of bait in the water lately and I knew it was only a matter of time until something big came in to fill up their bellies.
Thanks for the trip Bimini, it was a beautiful morning on the water. I think we did good to get home only an hour late. Well, maybe an hour and a half.
High Tide: 9:00 AM 1.3 FT Low Tide: 2:00 AM 0.0 FT Wind: 0-5 NE Air Temp: 72/91 Water Temp: Clarity: murky
I forgot to go buy shrimp yesterday so we decided to fish the Gulp and green backs if we could get them, which we did. We left the dock about 6:00 AM and spent about a half hour netting a couple dozen rather small green backs.
When we hit the sea walls at the end of the Apollo Waterway about 6:45 AM there were fish popping all along the walls. I started throwing the Gulp and about the 4th cast I got a small mangrove snapper. I dropped the anchor and threw a green back with a small split shot. But it was the Gulp that produced everything this morning. I had a lot of missed hits and got about 5 snapper in the boat, the biggest went 13 inches but only 2 were over the 10 inch limit. Some where in there I got a small sail cat on the Gulp too.
I did lose a few fish that picked up the little green backs but none appeared to be of any size and a few may have just been crabs. I tried them on the bottom and under a cork, under the docks and in the shallows in the reeds but the Gulp was definitely the producer for the day. And the day was very entertaining but about 10:00 AM it slowed down and started getting hot so we called it a beautiful morning on the water and headed home.
High Tide: 2:00 PM 2.1 FT Low Tide: 7:15 AM 1.2 FT Wind: 0-5 SW Air Temp: 74/96 Water Temp: Clarity: murky
I got a couple dozen shrimp the day before and soon after leaving the dock at about 6:15 AM I was able to net about 10 small greenbacks in our canal. We had decided not to travel too far, gas is getting to be an expense to consider even with our little 40 HP Mercury.
When we got to the end of the Apollo Waterway the sun was still low and the water was glassy calm. There were fishing popping and slapping the sides of the sea wall all up and down it's length. I hadn't planned on stopping there but I dropped the anchor and put out a shrimp, a greenback and I threw the Gulp around. I had a couple small hits on the Gulp Swimming Mullet and the shrimp but the fish were small and I never got one to the boat to see what they were. I saw a few break water and at a glance I would say some kind of small jack, tall flat body with a bright yellow tail.
We moved down a little farther and fished under the docks. Shrimp were getting stripped from the hook shortly after hitting the bottom and I got several small mangrove snapper to the boat. The small greenbacks sat in the water a lot longer between bites but they did produce a keeper snapper and a lady fish which I kept for crab trap bait.
There was a lot of action all morning but nothing too exciting. A lot of small bait in the water, at some time there will be some bigger fish after them and I hope I'm there to get a couple. About noon it starting getting way too hot in the sun so we headed home. Another relaxing day on the water.
High Tide: 2:30 PM 2.0 FT Low Tide: 8:30 AM 1.0 FT Wind: 10-20 SW Air Temp: 73/88 Water Temp: 81 Clarity: normal
We've been kind of busy for the last few weeks so when we found Sunday afternoon free I ran out for shrimp and right after lunch we hopped on the boat for a few hours of fishing. We didn't go far, gas is getting out of control. We stopped at the end of the canal and drifted shrimp under the docks on the incoming tide.
I played with a bunch of small mangrove snapper (I assume) but only got a few in the boat, 2 of them being 11-12 inches which went in the cooler. I am out of the 4 inch Gulp swimming mullet, all I could get locally was a smaller 2 inch version which I was throwing at the shore and sea wall with no luck. Jim, at Fines Bait in North Port said he was able to find a supplier for the bucket of Gulp 4 inch so next time I'm up there I'll pick one up.
About 3:30 I started getting a lot of action, unfortunately it was all with stingrays. Has anybody ever eaten a stingray? I have heard they are actually quite good if properly prepared. one day I'll try it, there are plenty to catch. After I got about 7 of them in a 20 minute period we decided it was another great day on the water and we headed home to a snapper dinner.
High Tide: 2:15 PM 1.8 FT Low Tide: 8:45 AM .75 FT Wind: 10-20 SW Air Temp: 57/88 Water Temp: 79 Clarity: normal
We left the dock about 1:00 PM with a bucket of silver jennies and a couple dozen shrimp from Fines Bait and Tackle in North Port. A nice warm day but windy so we stayed in the canal. There have been some nice reds coming out of our local water, we've been told.
We were still on an incoming tide but it was very high and slowing. I anchored and let my shrimp drift under the dock. There were mangrove snapper stealing my shrimp and I managed to hook a few, one going 13 inches went in the cooler.
About 2:30 or so the tide was getting slack and I had a small shrimp sitting on the bottom at the deep edge of the dock. I was throwing a Gulp and heard the pole at the other end of the bosat rattle. When I looked it was starting to bend over and by the time I reached it it was doubled over with line running spinning out against the drag. I battled a very strong 27 inch redfish for what seemed like a long time. I've caught bigger reds but never stronger than this one. He was just inside the slot limit of 18-27 inches and nice and fat and healthy. When I cleaned him I found the remains of 3 small Florida Stone Crabs in it's belly.
After that fish the tide was starting out and apparently that was the sign for the fish to rest. No more bites. We headed home about 3:45 to clean and eat fish. Another great day on the water.
High Tide: 7:30 PM 2.1 FT Low Tide: 3:45 AM -0.5 FT Wind: 5-10 NE Air Temp: 59/86 Water Temp: 74 Clarity: clear
The day was so beautiful we rushed around after lunch to get some time to spend on the water. One of the things I needed to do was net some bait, which I did but they were very small, the largest being only an inch long.
We left the dock about 2:30 PM, made a brief stop at the end of the canal to fish under the docks. But when I went to get a bait all my newly netted menhaden had died. I tossed a bunch in the water as chum and put a couple dead ones on a hook. But no luck, I'd really only expect catfish or rays on dead bait anyway. I also threw the Gulp around but no luck at all. After 15 minutes we turned towards the El Jobean bridge.
I started throwing the Gulp at the bridge and on a very slow retrieve I was getting hits. But after losing 3 tails off my swimming mullets I decided it wasn't worth the expense and I went over to get some shrimp by the boat launch.
When we got back to the bridge I started pulling up small mangrove snapper. Obviously the tail eaters I'd been feeding Gulp earlier. I probably caught 8-10 snapper over the next hour or so, most were not legal but a couple went to 10-11 inches. I didn't keep any I usually don't until they get over 12 inches.
I use 30 lb Berkley Fireline with a 2-3 ft. fluorocarbon leader. It gives you a really good feel for what is happening at the hook end of the line. I had a chance a few weeks ago to pick up a pole with 15 lb mono and it felt like I was fishing with a 3 lb weight on the end of a rubber band. The reason I say this is I had one hit, between all those snapper, that I really felt was a much larger fish. With Fireline a small fish is like a tinkling bell of an old phone, but a bigger fish is more of a thud...thud. And it doesn't matter if the moving tide has your line in a long arc, it still transmits that feel to your hands. But I didn't hook that one thudding fish, Karen will say "we'll never know", but I know and that's what matters.
About 5 o'clock I got tired of playing with snapper and we decided to head back to the canal, put some shrimp on the bottom and have our Subway dinner. Of course you can have bait out all day and never get a bite until you pick up your sandwich, I caught 4 stingray in the time it took me to eat my grinder. I don't enjoy unhooking stingray so once dinner was done we headed home. Another wonderful day on the water.
High Tide: 4:15 PM 1.3 FT Low Tide: 10:15 AM 0.0 FT Wind: 5-10 NW Air Temp: 59/77 Water Temp: 72 Clarity: clear
My Uncle Don and Aunt Nancy are visiting from Connecticut and wanted to see what the Myakka looked like from the water so the 3 of us packed a nice lunch and headed out about 9:45 AM. I wasn't able to net any bait so Don bought a couple dozen shrimp and we went straight out to the El Jobean bridge. I thought the tide would be hitting low and turning in but I guess the wind was against us and for the couple hours we were there it never turned in, it just sat slack. Don managed a couple mangrove snapper, too small to keep and I got a nice 18 inch spanish mackerel on a Berkley Gulp white swimming mullet.
We noticed a pelican kind of floating, swimming and dipping himself into the water in a most unusual way. After watching him for 15 minutes or so we decided he must have a piece of fishing line wrapped around his right wing and right foot. So we got a couple towels ready, a knife and the net and pulled the anchor to go see if we could help the poor thing out of its jam. I started the motor and pulled the anchor and looked back to where he had just been and he was flying away as if he had never been better. We finally decided that he was the same pelican I had tangle in my line on a cast a little earlier. I had only had him tangled for about 20 seconds and he seemed to slip free rather easily so I hadn't really paid any attention to him. But I'm thinking now my braided line may have given him a burn or ruffled or broke some feathers and that his unusual bathing actions had been an attempt to soothe or unruffle those feathers. It sure was odd.
We went out to one of the bays off Tippecanoe Bay and poled way back into very shallow water. I thought Don and Nancy would enjoy seeing the skinny back water and all the birds and wildlife back there. But we didn't find too much activity and no fish at all besides the mullet that were looking for what little sun made it through the clouds.
On the way back home we saw about 5 dolphins really stirring up the water, circling and jumping and splashing. I turned the boat towards them and slowed to an idle. They were in a playful mood and 3 of them turned and came towards us. They swam around and under the boat, stopping occasionally to stare up at us as we hung over the rail and talked to them. People can get pretty nutty in the way they talk to animals in those situations and I can't help but wonder if those dolphins just wanted a good laugh.
I had shut the motor and we slowly drifted away from the dolphins. But when I started the motor again and turned towards home the dolphins came back and started the circling and visiting. It was pretty amazing, they seemed to have something to say. It was at least 15 minute that we chugged along at nearly idle speed and they gave us quite a show. I'm wondering now if they had talked to that poor pelican and he told them of our good, but misguided intentions towards him. Whatever the reason they eventually let us go on alone and went back to their dancing.
The spanish mackerel was delicious blackened with a salad from my garden, italian turkey sausage, sweet potatoes and some good wine Don and Nancy had provided. It was another great day in paradise.
Fish Caught: Jack, Sail Cat, Catfish, Mangrove Snapper, Stingray
High Tide: 3:45 PM 1.25 FT Low Tide: 10:00 AM -0.1 FT Wind: 20-30 SE Air Temp: 64/82 Water Temp: 75 Clarity: clear
Living on the canal, with the boat always there ready to go and being self employed gives us the freedom to take a break and head out to do a little fishing almost any time we choose to do so. So normally when we check the weather and it says 20-30 MPH wind we stay home or at least in our own canal. But today we had friends come down from a snow storm up in CT and it was the only day they could get out and we really wanted to give them a good day on the water.
So Tom and Arlene arrived at 9:00 AM and as planned several weeks ago, we headed out for an adventure. It was perfect timing to catch the low to incoming tide at my snook spot at the El Jobean bridge but with the wind so fast I knew we'd never be able to anchor. So I instructed my fishing crew on where I wanted them to drop the menhaden and told them I'd hold the boat steady under power and they should be careful not to get thrown off in the rough waves. It all sounded like a great idea.
BUT, as they were dropping their bait a huge gust of wind and a giant wave hit us at just the wrong moment and turned the nose of my boat in just the exact wrong direction. I was nose into the bridge piling with the wind blowing us hard towards it and not enough room to swing back out in either forward or reverse. I turned the wheel hard to the right, gave it some gas with the intention of pushing off the bridge with my hands to keep the rear of the boat and motor from hitting the bridge. As I rushed from the captains chair my hand tapped the throttle and everything happened a little faster than I'd planned. I managed to get a hand on the bridge but not soon enough to keep from scraping just a little along the wood bumpers. Of course the extra power sent Tom back pedaling to maintain balance. Lucky for me Arlene and Karen were both seated and Tom was coordinated enough to stay upright and on board. He later sad he saw what was happening and was expecting the get away, although not with the sudden acceleration, but being aware was enough for him to keep safe.
We abandoned the bridge fishing and headed across the harbor for the mangrove bays behind hog island. The wind was whipping straight up Charlotte Harbor and the waves were much larger than any I've been in before. A pontoon boat is a little like a bar of ivory soap in a tub full of kids. It was slow going and we got very wet. Salt spray was in the air in sheets, the wind was almost too loud to yell over and hog island was almost invisible through dripping sun glasses. After 8 hours with no food and water we finally started getting into the lee of the mangroves. Well, I guess it only seemed that drastic.
But once in the mangroves it was calm and quiet and sunny with just enough breeze to keep us cool. We spent the rest of the day idling around from spot to spot catching only a big jack, some stingray, and Arlene caught a catfish AND I LET HER KEEP IT (a private joke). The only sign of the pandemonium whirling outside of our mangrove sanctuary was when you cast your lure up above the mangroves. The wind would grab it an fling it way off it's intended destination, usually well into the mangroves. I've always found fishing in Florida to be much better on those beautiful, sunny calm days we're getting so used to. I always thought it was my state of mind that made it seem so. But over the last few years its starting to seem like the fish also enjoy those nice days to dine. I think even the fish in Florida are relaxed and mellow and choose to venture out only when its a beautiful day on the water!
Our trip home was no less brutal. But we motored very slowly directly across the harbor to the lee of the far shore before turning back north west towards the bridge. It made the trip a little shorter and we only got mildly wet. It was plenty warm enough so being wet didn't bother anybody and with 30 MPH wind we dried fast once we were out of the spray. We stopped in the Apollo canal and played with mangrove snapper, stingray and a sailcat and decided it was time for a still, quiet seat on the lanai out of the wind and a cocktail. I won't say it was a beautiful day on the water, but it was exciting, it was fun, it was a very nice visit with Tom and Arlene and it was a beautiful day amongst the protective mangroves!
P.S. Arlene took some photos she'll email and I'll post them later.
High Tide: 9:30 PM 1.5 FT Low Tide: 6:00 AM -0.25 FT Wind: 5-10 NE Air Temp: 48/79 Water Temp: 70 Clarity: clear
We finally got a chance to go out fishing and the wind didn't pick up to stop us. It seems like it's (the wind) been watching us and plotting to keep us on shore.
It was a strange tide, coming up slowly all day long. I went to get some bait early in the morning but couldn't find any. So we went up to Fines Bait in north Port and bought a couple dozen, mostly small, shrimp. I guess cold snaps make it very hard to get larger shrimp. But they also say to fish with what is available because that's what the fish are eating.
So we took our small shrimp and when the tide was just high enough we slid the boat off the lift and headed straight to the El Jobean bridge. It was around 1:00 PM when we got anchored and started drifting shrimp and casting Gulp at the bridge pilings. We spent about 2 hours feeding small mangrove snapper. I got about 7 in the boat the largest was just about keeping size which is 10 inches. But the rest were much smaller down to 5 inches. Anyone that fishes for snapper knows they are experts at taking a shrimp off your hook and avoiding being hooked. So as you can imagine I was busy with these little things. I also hooked and boated a small skate. Not many people in this area call them skate so I did a little looking and if you're interested here is a great site about fish and this page in particular is about skates and rays. After a couple hours we gave up and headed back to our canal.
It was still early (3:30 PM) and such a beautiful day that we decided to throw some of those little shrimp under the docks on the way up the Apollo Waterway. My second cast I had a nice bite but missed it. As my shrimp just got to the surface a nice Sheepshead grabbed at it but missed and turned back under the dock. A few casts later I felt a heavy tug and the line started moving at a steady pace under the dock. When I set the hook I thought I'd gotten wrapped around the dock piling. But when I finally managed to get the fish out from under the dock and it hit open water it took off. I realized then I had a nice fish. I yelled to Karen to get the net and as she came along side me the fish rolled and she yelled "that's not a fish its a whale." Well it wasn't quite a whale but it was a beautiful redfish and it gave us quite a fight before finally sliding into the net.
The bad news is it was 2 inches over the slot limit of 18 to 27 inches so we had to throw it back. So no fish for supper but another great day on the water!
High Tide: 6:15 PM 1.0 FT Low Tide: 11:00 AM -0.75 FT Wind: 5-10 E Air Temp: 68/80 Water Temp: 67 Clarity:
The tide was low in the morning and since it's been a little cool we decided to make an afternoon trip with the full sun to keep us warm. We left after lunch with an empty live well. I took some menhaden out of the freezer but I hoped to net some bait in the canal.
We went to the end where our canal meets the Myakka and anchored at the edge of flat where the incoming tide rolls off to a small channel. I threw the Gulp Swimming Mullet and had cut bait on the bottom. There was a lot of bait action on the calm water's surface but nothing wanted any bait we had out there. So after an hour I poled into the real shallow water and chummed to try to draw some of the bait fish closer so I could net them. I didn't have much luck catching just a couple mullet that were awful big for bait so I threw them back. I also got a net full of baby needle fish, but I'm not sure they're all that great as bait, so I let them go.
On the way back out I stopped and threw the net over the deeper channel I'd been fishing in. It came back with an 18 inch snook, kind of a surprise. Of course that is under sized and out of season so he got a quick trip back home.
We drifted the incoming tide between the sea walls throwing the Gulp Mullet. At one time there was an explosion of fish chasing bait against the sea wall. I'm still not sure what they were, they didn't seem to be jacks, which was my first thought, the color and action seemed wrong, too slow. They also seemed to slow to be lady fish, too fat also. I was a little too far to cast into them but I poled that way and shortly after the visible attack ended I got the Gulp in the area. On the second cast I caught an 11 inch mangrove snapper. Would a school of snapper attack bait fish in a group with such ferocity as to create the splashing and noise that I saw? Or was the snapper attracted to the remaining pieces of the attack of another more aggresive fish.
Mangrove Snapper only needs to be 10 inches long to keep and it's very good eating. But since it was getting late and a single 11 inch fish is hardly a snack, I threw him back and we headed for the dock, another peaceful day on the canal.
Fish Caught: Redfish, Sheepshead, Snook, Mangrove Snapper
High Tide: 5:45 PM 1.75 FT Low Tide: 11:15 AM 0.25 FT Wind: 5-10 N Air Temp: 71/88 Water Temp: 81 Clarity: murky
I was working on my computer this evening after dinner, it was dark so it had to be near 7 PM. I kept hearing the faint sound of kids yelling out on the street. Florida homes are made of concrete and quite sound proof so it takes some noise to be heard inside. I didn't pay much attention but the noise got louder and louder until I realized someone was trying to get my attention. It was our across the canal neighbor Bimini, in our back yard where she had been trying to yell from her boat tied to our dock. Well, when its hot and the air is on and the doors are closed its almost impossible to hear someone outside, so by the time I noticed her she was at the top of the stairs making a lot of noise which I could just barely hear until I opened the door.
Once I realized it was Bimini I knew there was a big fish involved. She asked if we would take a photo for her which is a silly question since we are always very anxious to see whatever they might catch and learn when they caught it, where and with what. I ran for my camera.
When I got to the dock Bimini, Julie and Julie's cousin Sandra were hauling 2 nice fish from the cooler. There was a lot of excitement and too many people talking but I finally determined that Sandra was the real fishing person in the group, at least for today. She got both the Snook and nice redfish you see in the photo. She also got a bunch of other stuff like snappers, a couple nice sheepshead and a jack but all were unimportant next to the snook and redfish.
Now I wasn't on the boat with them but I will tell you that by the level of excitement and by the way the story was told from 3 separate mouths almost all at the same time that I am sure this is true and not a fish story. Here's how I understood the very exciting battle of the snook against three fisherwomen. There's kind of a contest on their boat to see who can catch the most fish with a single shrimp and the game was on. Sandra had one fish boated on her shrimp which she described as "half a mashed shrimp" when she cast it back out to her "secret flat rock." She claimed that she had to cast over the rock then drag her shrimp back over it stopping just as the shrimp was ready to drop back off the edge and thats where the fish were waiting, hard to argue when she caught most of the fish. So I guess a snook found "half a mashed shrimp" on top of a flat rock, ate it, got hooked and the battle began.
The snook went straight for the marker pole and around behind it trying to snap the line, but Sandra deftly maneuvered it back around and into the open, the snook gained some advantage and went back behind the pole and Sandra muscled him out again. So the snook gave up on being saved by the marker pole and headed into the mangroves driving deep up under in the shallow water where his tail was slapping at the mangrove branches and the line was threatening to tangle and break. But Sandra, once again triumphed over the monster snook and coaxed him back into open water leading the beast with quick accurate swings of the pole applying tension and giving slack at just the proper moments.
Then, as if to give Sandra the chance to display her most masterful fishing skills in the face of extreme adversity, her fishing pole snapped in two. Shit.
This is where the story was told with such pure emotion that the following is as close as I can get to the facts.
Now I'm sure Sandra would have managed alone but when the pole snapped there were 2 more pair of hands close by that couldn't resist helping. That's six hands, in case your math is bad, all holding parts of the 2 piece fishinng pole, each pair with its own mind. From what I can tell Sandra maintained control of the reel and alternated the other hand between the two pole halves as needed. Julie had a firm grip on the lower half of the pole while Bimini had the top half. I also got the impression that Julie tried to control Sandras reeling hand with sharp commands to reel faster and Sandra was trying to get Bimini's hands to hold the top of the pole higher or lower or left or whatever. It wasn't mentioned but I'd bet there was also a lot of laughing and yapping (Lilly and Tater, the dogs) going on. And I'm not sure if anyone remebers who got the net but some how that snook got into it and into the boat.
Amazing.
The redfish was caught in a normal way and both were caught at sunset which is the important part of the story if you want to get one yourself. But I am sure it won't be half as much fun as Sandra's was.
Sandra is here during a short break before heading off to Orange Beach, AL where her and her husband, FLW Outdoors Redfish Series, Tournament Director, Dan Grimes are back to work.
Fish Caught: Tarpon, Trout, Goliath Grouper, Mangrove Snapper
High Tide: 5:00 AM 2.3 FT Low Tide: 12:45 PM -0.2 FT Wind: 10-20 NE Air Temp: 73/90 Water Temp: 82 Clarity: avarage
We left the dock a little late, 7:25 AM. We went straight out to the bridge in El Jobean, Fl and anchored in our favorite spot. I put a white bait (I netted yesterday in a local canal) on my hook and cast it near the bridge piling. The bait were pretty big 2 to 4 inches so I went with no sinkers.
The bait was very lively and it kept trying to swim into the piling where I knew I'd get hung up and probably have to break the line. So I kept pulling him out and one time when I tried to pull him out he pulled back VERY hard. I set the hook and the fight was on. Whatever it was it was big, I couldn't bring it to the surface and after only 30 seconds or so it got off.
So I put another bait on, cast him in the same place and hooked it again. This time it seemed I had him hooked well and after a few minutes of hard fighting a 3 foot tarpon blasted into the air about 4 feet from the boat. Karen had been reading and didn't even know I'd hooked the 2nd fish, so when that fish exploded at the surface she nearly jumped off the other side of the boat. I fought him a little while longer until he finally spit the hook. Good thing because I'm not really equipped to bring a fish like that into the boat. I managed to hook tarpon 3 more times after that, once even on my Gulp Swimming Mullet. All were released in much the same way and a couple gave us the same thrill by dancing on top of the water.
Then the goliath grouper started eating my white bait. I got about 5 or 6 in the boat between 10 and 15 inches, soon released. Even at that size they are fun to catch on light tackle, a very strong fish. I also got a couple mangrove snapper on the smaller bait, but nothing big enough for dinner.
Then the action slowed and I started paying less attention to my drifting bait. The tide was running out fast so it ended up behind us where the water motion start to slow as it leaves the influence of the bridge. Half way through a retrieve of my Gulp that pole bent over.
I managed to grab it and not lose the fish, the first trout of the season. Unfortunately it was 14.75 inches which is a quarter inch too short. But the next one was almost 16 inches and they kept coming. I lost a few and got 2 keepers in the boat before I ran out of bait. I had about 30 bait which is way more than I've ever needed before.
I'd seen some flashing in the water during the morning so I decided to toss the cast net and see what I got. A net full of scaled sardines but the largest was less than 2 inches long. Awfully tiny but I put 3 at a time on my hook and continued catching trout. But by about 10:30 the wind started really picking up and once again we started dragging the anchor. I got tired of fighting with the wind so we headed home by about 11:00 AM. A great day of fishing!
