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 Sunday, October 11, 2009
Fish Caught: Lady Fish, Sail Cat, Catfish, Stingray
High Tide: FT Low Tide: FT Wind: Air Temp: Water Temp: Clarity:
I just don't have the time to write out a nice pleasant story. But I wanted to keep you all posted on fishing in my end of Charlotte Harbor/Myakka River. We went out on a few short trips over the last week. The last trip was Sunday morning, we left the dock at about 6:30 AM.
On all 3 trips we caught a lot of junk fish, no reds, trout or snook. But we caught lots of cat fish and ladyfish.
But more importantly is for the first time this year the deep water around the el Jobean bridge was full of bait. I threw my cast net once and had to shovel bait back off my boat because I didn't have room to keep so many bait. They were there all 3 trips.
And on Sunday huge schools of ladyfish came in from the harbor to devastate the bait. The bird were diving everywhere. The water, calm due to no wind, was alive with schools of fish and birds were diving as far out as we could see. I have to believe that something worthwhile will be coming in to feed on all this bait. I hope I can find the time to get out there again soon.
Fish Caught: Sugar Trout, Sail Cat, Lady Fish, Gar
High Tide: 3:00 PM 2.4 FT Low Tide: 11:45 PM -0.5 FT Wind: 5-10 E Air Temp: 71/88 Water Temp: 81 Clarity: murky
We had a little BBQ for Memorial Day and all our guests came by boat. After dinner we packed up a couple boats and ran out to the El Jobean bridge. I had some shrimp from El Jobean Bait & Tackle Shop and a couple others had been catching and freezing mullet and rays for a few days. Shark was our goal.
The sun was down but the sky was still brightly colored when we anchored up just a few hundred yards north west of the El Jobean bridge in the Myakka River. The tide was ripping out so our baits were carried towards the bridge and the El Jobean fishing Pier. In the top photo on this page we'd have been just in the right edge of the picture. We set up some IV drips (literally) of menhaden oil, tossed out a bunch of varied baits both on the bottom and under corks and settled in for the night. The radio played some great classic rock, the wind blew just enough to keep bugs away and keep us comfortable on a nice warm night.
It was a night to catch big sail cats and that started immediately. I think Beth probably got the first and the most but I think I had the biggest. The sail cats kept us busy all night long. I know most people don't like them but they are really very good to eat. They need to be quite large to make it worth the effort of filleting them but we were catching some of the biggest I've seen and we ended up with a cooler full which are headed for the dinner table.
There was also a school of sugar trout and I seemed to hit that hole with a shrimp on a lead head jig. I pulled in just shy of ten sugar trout and tried a few as bait under a cork. But they only attracted the attention of some big sail cats. The bait was about half the size of the sail cats but they ate them anyway.
Julie hooked into what we had hoped was our first shark. But when it got into view of the boat lights it was a huge, nearly 4 foot long, gar. It was almost scary thinking about bringing that thing into the boat to unhook. But luckily, after playing with it for a while, it released itself.
And that's about it for the night. Sounds kind of uneventful as a fishing trip but I assure you it was not. It was midnight before we decided to head home. The hours passed in what seemed like minutes. Good weather, good music and most importantly good friends made for an extremely enjoyable evening on the water. I hope to do it again soon.
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: Redfish, Lady Fish, Trout, Sail Cat, Spanish Mackerel, Skate/Ray
High Tide: 7:00 AM 1.8 FT Low Tide: 4:00 PM 0.2 FT Wind: 5-10 N Air Temp: 55/69 Water Temp: 72 Clarity: clear
Finally, the weather cooperates and our plans to take the boat down to Gasparilla Sound for a few days fishing will be realized. It was kind of cool in the morning so I didn't rush out too early, but when I was finally packed and ready to go the boat wouldn't start. Turned out the battery shorted overnight (was fine the day before) so after a trip to get a new battery and installation time we were ready to leave the dock by about 10:30 AM.
The plan was for Karen and Julie to travel by car to meet Bimini and I at Eldred's Marina in Placida. Bimini and I would make a few stops along the way to see if we could catch a few and meet them for a late lunch and then some more fishing.
Our first stop was Trout Creek and our first fish was a small snook on a white Gulp Swimming Mullet. But soon after we started catching trout, lots of trout, but most were 12-13 inches. We caught about 15 trout on shrimp, greenbacks and Gulp with only 2 going over the 15 inch minimum but of course there is now a closed season for Nov-Dec. But it was fun catching them and nice to see so many around.
Next stop was supposed to be Bull Bay but neither of us had been down there for a long time and we made the turn in a little early and passed thru Turtle Bay. We paused in the middle of the pass and caught a few big ladyfish in very shallow water. Just as we passed into Bull Bay there were a couple small islands that really blocked the cold wind so we anchored there for a while. There were a lot of Mullet jumping and after a while we started spotting reds tailing in the shallows just a little out of casting range. Bimini poled us in a little closer and I dropped a Gulp on one of them and boated a nice 19 inch red. It was awful shallow but the site of those tails was more than we could resist. But when we decided to head for deeper water we found we were stuck. It was about dead low now so after pushing and shoving we settled in to wait for the upcoming tide to float us again.
About 2 hours later I jumped in the water and lifted the engine enough to get us going again. We were very late for our lunch date so we postponed it to the next day by cell phone and finished the day in Bull Bay. As we drifted near the entrance to Bull Bay the wind really picked up and clouds blew in from the north, it was cold. But we caught a nice Mackerel on chunked ladyfish and a huge sail cat on a live pinfish and a bunch of other small stuff.
About 4:30 or so it was really getting windy and the sky was dark so we headed back to Eldred's. It was a cool ride back but a nice exciting day on the water.
High Tide: 6:15 PM 2.1 FT Low Tide: 12:15 PM 1.1 FT Wind: 0-5 S Air Temp: 72/90 Water Temp: Clarity: murky
There was a lot of bait swimming past our dock this morning when I went down about 6:30 AM. So I netted a bunch with the intent of catching the incoming tide this afternoon. But Karen was anxious to get out and it was a beautiful morning so we got the boat packed and were on our way by around 8:00 AM.
I put a green back under a bobber, one on the bottom with a small split shot and I threw my Gulp Swimming Mullet. I kept all 3 lines going and moved to several different spots on flats, under docks and finally in a deep hole I got one small sail cat. I did feed several other fish that were too smart to get hooked but it was a very slow fishing day. But I think it was mostly the tide, we really needed to start fishing about 1:00 PM. when the tide would turn in and rise quickly until about 6:15. It was still a great 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.
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: 2:00 AM 2.5 FT Low Tide: 10:45 AM -0.75 FT Wind: 5-10 E Air Temp: 60/84 Water Temp: 72 Clarity: not clear
I still had sardines left from last week and this week we have nearly a full moon and a tide change at around 10:45 AM. And the tide was a huge 3.25 feet difference. I hoped that would work to get some snook hitting at the El Jobean bridge.
We left the dock about 9;00 AM and went straight out to the El Jobean bridge and got anchored in my favorite spot. Not much was happening with the live sardines but I was catching trout on my Gulp Swimming Mullet. I bought the new Berkley Gulp! Alive! 4" Swimming Mullet in a bucket from FishUSA.com, the only place I could find it in a bucket. The bucket comes with a lot of extra juice so you can put used baits back in the bucket to get refreshed, its very convenient.
Finally the time came when the rushing tide began to slow. I was throwing the Gulp Mullet up by the bridge and got a hard slam. It was a very nice 25 inch snook. Of course it has to be between 28 and 33 inches (pinched tail) to keep so over the side it went.
As the tide turned in I switched back to my live bait and after only 10 or so drifts into the bridge the bait got slammed. I new it was big and near the bridge but I couldn't keep it out of the pilings. At one point I could no longer feel the fish, I had a good hold of the bridge though. I held steady hoping that snook would change his mind and swim out and I was pleasantly surprised when she did. Karen and I managed to get that monster into the net and into the boat.
28.5 inches, a keeper. I unhooked her and threw her into the cooler already thinking about dinner tonight. I checked my 30lb Ande Pink mono leader and found it very frayed. I grabbed both ends in my hands and gave a gentle tug and it broke in half, how did it hold to get that fish in the net?
We fished a while longer until my last three bait were gone and then we headed home to dinner. Another great day on the water!
Fish Caught: Snook, Trout, Sail Cat, Goliath Grouper
High Tide: 2:00 PM 1.5 FT Low Tide: 8:00 AM 0.5 FT Wind: 5-10 N Air Temp: 53/80 Water Temp: 76 Clarity: murky
I forgot about the time change, I really wanted to leave the dock in the dark but it was getting light already at 6:20 AM when I got underway. I went straight to the El Jobean bridge to catch the low tide turning in at 8:00 AM.
I had some very nice 4 inch sardines which I got in the water still with an outgoing tide that was pretty fast. It's hard to fish that in my favorite snook spot but I managed to get a bite on the 3rd cast, which I missed. But I managed a 23 inch snook a few casts later on my Gulp Swimming Mullet. I finally found the Swimming Mullet in Berkley's new bucket and I'm glad I did, they are much better when stored in all the extra juice. FishUSA has them and their shipping is cheaper than any other I've found. Click the banner below.
I went on to boat 2 more snook about 25 inches each and missed one other good strike, all on the live bait. I also got a 2 Goliath Grouper of average size for here about 10-12 inches and one trout about 12 inches. By this time I had positioned myself for the incoming tide and about 9:45 I threw out my last live bait. As it drifted with the tide up to the edge of the bridge I felt a nice heavy bump on the line and set the hook. It was big, there was a large swirl in the water as my pole doubled over and that big snook dove right back into the bridge pilings. I couldn't stop her so in another 15 seconds of battle I could feel the line scraping the barnacle covered cement until it finally cut. Another nice fish lost and no more bait.
As I looked around for bait I saw birds diving several hundred yards out so I headed that way. The bait was small, no good to me so I threw a gulp to see what was feeding on it. I caught 4 good sized sail cats in the next 20 minutes. I found you had to let the gulp hit the bottom very often to hook the them, but sail cats is not my favorite fish. Although I know a few people that love to eat them.
I decided to call it a day and come back again tomorrow.
High Tide: 4:15 AM 2.1 FT Low Tide: 11:50 AM 0.1 FT Wind: 5-10 E Air Temp: 69/89 Water Temp: 82 Clarity: murky
I missed my first fish before we left the dock. We got off to kind of a late start, the sun was brightening the sky as I was getting the bait from my bait basket into the live well on the boat. There was just enough light to see there were some big fish feeding, the wakes they left while in pursuit of bait fish was exaggerated by the low light reflecting off the glassy water. I figured another 15 minutes until we were ready to leave so I put a sardine on a hook and tossed it in the canal and put the pole in the boat's rod holder. It was only a few minutes until I saw the water swirling around the area I figured my bait should be and sure enough when I got to the pole I felt a good tug. My line was leading under the overhanging pepper trees so I figured I'd better get this fish hooked and get him out of that brush. I tightened the line and when I felt him tug again I set it and the pepper tree started shaking around as that big fish pulled on the line which was wrapped in the tree. He pulled that bush back and forth as I tugged from the other side until the line gave. Seemed like a snook but I guess we'll never know for sure.
I baited up again but we were ready to leave so the bait was in the water for only a few minutes with no other action. We left the dock a little before 7:00 AM. Our first stop was at the end of the Jupiter Waterway where we anchored and threw bait and Gulp Swimming mullet in the deep hole along the east edge of the canal. I hooked 3 small snook which all managed to jump out of the water until they shook the hook. Snook is a great fish if you like a battle and a great dinner.
When it got slow there we went out and drifted the sea wall at the end of the Apollo Waterway. I lost a few bait to something small, probably mangrove snapper which are very talented bait thieves. It was pretty breezy but we took a trip out to the El Jobean bridge anyway, knowing we would be struggling with some choppy water. But it was worse than expected so we anchored far enough away from the bridge to allow evasive maneuvers when the wind and waves dragged us off the anchor and towards the concrete pilings.
I put a little lead on my sardine and tossed it into the fast outgoing current and within minutes I battled a very large sail cat into the boat and another followed only minutes later. But it was so wavy that it was uncomfortable to move around on the deck so we headed back to calmer water.
We sat in the Apollo Waterway with the intention of fishing the incoming tide under a dock that seems to hold a lot of fish under those conditions. See the May 28, 2007 post. We sat a long time still with an outgoing tide before I caught a 23" snook on a sardine. It was very hot and the tide just wasn't showing signs of turning out even though it was after noon so we gave it up for the day.
I did talk with a young man that came by throwing what looked like a blue rapala. He claims to have caught a 38" snook this morning in his canal which he seemed to indicate by a wave of his head was the Venus Waterway. If you read this, my friend, please send me an email.
We were back to the dock by about 12:30 PM. Another great day of fishing!
High Tide: 6:00 AM 2 FT Low Tide: 2:00 PM .25 FT Wind: 5-10 E Air Temp: 75/93 Water Temp: 85 Clarity: murky
We decided to go back to see if we could catch that shark. Our neighbor, Bimini, came along for the excitement which began when we left the dock about 6:45 AM.
We went right to the end of the Apollo Waterway drifing threw the sea walls with sardines both live lined and under bobbers (this time with steel leader) and casting a Gulp Mullet and a Heddon - Zara Puppy.
It was very quiet, no action at all until we were almost in the Myakka River. We could see a lot of commotion on the glassy water surface just ahead. I dropped anchor before we got too close and Bimini was able to cast a sardine, apparently right on the head of a big jack. It seemed to grap that sardine practically before it hit the water and Bimini battled it into the net. We sat there for a while and then decided to head back up the canal. As I was hauling the anchor Bimini took one more cast into the mangrove roots and a little snook blasted out and grabbed her sardine.
We went back up to the Jupiter Waterway and played with some sail cats and lady fish. One of the sail cats was quite large and I talked Karen into trying it for supper. We've heard from a couple different friends that they are very good and the one you see in the photo was so big we thought it was time to try it out. We've been pleasantly surprised with other fish, such as spanish mackerel, that most people don't eat. But very fresh fish can be very good when the same fish purchased at a store may not be fresh and can be less than satisying. We made the dock by 10:30 AM
High Tide: 3:45 PM 2.1 FT Low Tide: 9:45 AM .9 FT Wind: 5-10 SE Air Temp: 73/89 Water Temp: 85 Clarity: murky
Left the dock about 6:30 AM. Anchored between the sea walls at the end of the Apollo Waterway and live lined some live bait I netted Sunday morning and tossed a Gulp Swimming Mullet. Nothing.
We moved on to the bridge over the Myakka River at El Jobean, FL. On the way out the motor started dieing but I discovered it would start up again after pumping the gas flow bulb. We had to stop and pump every 5 minutes. So we headed over to Gulf Coast Marine Center in El Jobean, FL.
I thought it might be water in the gas or the water separator filter. So I went in to buy a new filter and a can of dry gas (temporary fix because I didn't have a filter wrench). Bob, the service manager stopped me (I bought my boat there and have Bob service it every 100 hours) and suggested this was not my problem. He came out to the boat and did a little work and told me my problem was the bulb. Sold me a new one and everything I'll need to replace the old one and showed me how to get through the day with the old one then sent us back off to fish in time to catch the tide I wanted. There was no charge for the diagnostics, thanks Bob.
So I got back to the bridge a half hour before the low slack, perfect. I expected to find some large snook when the tide turned back in, but I was wrong. I fed the little mangrove snapper most of my bait and by 11:00 or so the tide was way to fast and we started dragging the anchor (no I didn't get a new one yet).
We moved back into the canal and sat with some bait on the bottom while we ate lunch. That's when I got a giant sail cat, which I let go. I did a little casting under the bridges along the Apollo and Jupiter Waterways and got some action with small (18-22 inches) snook on my Berkley Gulp.
We also saw an interesting duck that seemed to be dancing for us. I will research it and put my video of it up here when I get time. We were back at the dock by about 1:00 PM.
One thing I should mention about the day. It was very overcast, more like the cloudy day so typical up in New england where it doesn't rain but you never see the sun. Very, very unusual for south west Florida where we usually get sun most of the day and then sudden bursts of thunderstorms. The overcast did make the day cooler and more pleasant.
