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, November 8, 2009
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.
High Tide: 5:15 PM 1.25 FT Low Tide: 11:15 AM -0.25 FT Wind: 10-20 SE Air Temp: 53/84 Water Temp: 69 Clarity: murky
It was a windy day but finally it was warm. I know it's been very cold up north but we're not used to the record cold we've had either and it is so nice to be warm again. So, we chose to deal with the wind and get out of the house. I ran down to El Jobean Bait & Tackle Shop and picked up a couple dozen shrimp and we ate lunch and shoved off by about noon.
The tide had already turned in and was moving fast when we got to the end of the Apollo Waterway. Action was very slow. I don't think I had a single mangrove snapper steal a shrimp all day. I did find a lot of very small catfish enjoying my shrimp and I lost count of how many I had to unhook. I don't enjoy those slimy fish with their dangerous barbed fins. Anybody that ever got stuck by one knows how hard it hurts and how easily it can become infected.
So I've gotten very good at hanging the catfish by the line and grabbing the hook with my pliers. A quick flip in the right direction will unhook the fish and I never have to touch it or bring it in the boat. Except, these were very small, 6 inch, fish and they didn't always drop down into the water with my unhook flip. One of them flew over my shoulder and landed right inside Karen's boat bag. The boat bag is filled with reading material, wallets, sunglasses, sunscreen and some snack food. And now a slimy catfish that would not stand still for a second. What a mess, I finally grabbed a fin with my pliers and pried it (it's barbed fin stuck into the bag) out and tossed it overboard. Karen wasn't pleased.
I also hooked a few bigger rays and got one very small snook on a Gulp. But fishing wise it was a tough day.
I once again forgot my camera and camcorder and wouldn't you know a bald eagle flew lazily over our head giving me plenty of time to grab the camera, if I had one. And then it spotted a fish in the water and made a slow glide down to the surface, leveled at the last moment and swept forward about 6 feet with it's huge talons extended easily grabbing an unsuspecting mullet from the water. It looked so easy. I'd been working for several hours and I didn't have a thing to show for it. It was amazing to watch only 50 yards from our boat.
So I finally used up all my shrimp and we headed for the dock by about 4:30. Another wonderful day with the wildlife on the water.
Lost my boat, some of my mind, but not my fishing' lust and knowledge. 'Want to catch big cobia, black tip sharks, bull sharks, other catch the bait for the big'ns there, too. Super, easy trip & fun time. I have a spot not 10 minutes from shore via Port Charlotte Beach Complex launch. Also used to have flats boat, and know some good spots. If you'd like a fishin' buddy, please email me. I'll bring bait, beer; you bring boat. If interested, please email me at darrylwatson@live.com. By Darryl, At
August 9, 2009 4:55 PM
Lost my boat, but not all of my mind. Know a great spot for blacktips and cobia. Catch bait in same spot. Great little trip, 10 minutes from Port Charlotte Beach Complex launch. Biggest cobia I've landed there: 65 pounds. Bull shark (est) 150 pounds. Also familiar with great backwater fishing. If you'd like a fishin' buddy, I'll supply the bait and drinks; you supply the boat. If interested, please reach me at darrylwatson@live.com. By Darryl, At
August 9, 2009 4:56 PM
Fish Caught: Sheepshead, Snook, Lady Fish, Catfish, Spadefish
High Tide: 6:00 PM 1.25 FT Low Tide: 11:50 AM -0.25 FT Wind: 10-20 S Air Temp: 60/81 Water Temp: 71/73 Clarity: murky
The day was so nice and the forecast for the next few days was so bad that we decided to get our fishing trip in today. A front coming through tonight, heavy wind from the south and a steep rise in the tide was so much like our trip on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 that I had to think we'd have some fun in the same spot we fished on the 13th. So I made the trip down to El Jobean Bait & Tackle Shop and got a couple dozen shrimp.
We were a little early for the tides so we stopped and fished the tail end of the outgoing tide by the docks at the end of our canal. It was so windy it was hard to get the boat right but when we finally started drifting shrimp up under the dock the action was immediate. I'm sure we made a lot of mangrove snapper very happy. They know how to get shrimp off a hook without touching the hook. But we did find a couple very nice sheepshead, one was 14 inches and the other went almost 17 inches. That's enough for dinner for two.
I also got a small snook, about 20 inches and a spadefish that was pretty big, about 13 inches. We weren't sure about size limits or even if spadefish were any good to eat so we let it go. But I see from a Google search that some people really like them, but I guess they're hard to fillet. Maybe next time we'll try one. There doesn't seem to be any size or bag limits in Floorida.
When the tide was really rushing in we went over to the oyster beds where Bimini and I did so well a couple weeks ago. The tide was really rushing in and the water was just about as deep as when we had all our luck with snook. I put some shrimp out into the very fast current and started getting action immediately. I got a couple catfish before I noticed the same big swirls in the water that I had seen on the trip with Bimini. So I put on a Gulp Swimming Mullet and started casting. On my second cast I saw the swirls very near and head towards my lure and, as I said so out loud, I got a nice hit on my Gulp. It was a nice snook that we manged to net and measure at just shy of 29 inches. I put an X on the side of the boat, we'll be back for that fish when it's in season. But they are so much fun to catch even when you have to let them go.
We fished on to catch a ladyfish, several more catfish and Karen got another smaller snook on a shrimp. We finally used up the shrimp and headed home to clean our two sheepshead for supper. Another great, sunny day on the water. I really hope my experiences on the Myakka River can take some of my northern friends out of that harsh world for just a little while. From what we see on TV it's a tough world up there this year. Come on down and take a break!
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: 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: Redfish, Lady Fish, Trout, Snook, Blow Fish
High Tide: 10:00 AM 1.6 FT Low Tide: 5:30 PM 0.5 FT Wind: 0-5 NE Air Temp: 51/82 Water Temp: 72 Clarity: very clear
It was foggy again this morning so I didn't leave Eldred's Marina until about 11:00 AM. But by then it was beautiful weather with bright blue sky and next to no wind. It was our last day in Placida so I was alone to make the long trip back home. With as much fishing as I could stand along the way.
I went straight to Bull Bay and fished the point just inside the entrance to the west. The water was glassy calm and there were bait fish schooled just up on the flat next to the deeper channel. I netted a bunch and started catching trout with them and on my Gulp Swimming Mullet. I don't know how many I caught but it was a lot, all under the 15 inch minimum. I also caught some big pinfish and the largest blowfish I've seen in shallow water. When it finally got all puffed up it was about 8-9 inches in diameter.
There was a bunch of mullet jumping nearer to the mangroves and I keep reading "find the mullet and you'll find the redfish" so when I was tired of feeding the trout I poled over that way. I threw some bait out under a bobber and started casting my Gulp around over the grass and up near the mangroves. And about the 8th cast produced a nice 20 inch red. I poled around there for another hour with out much more action and decided to drift out with the tide towards the deeper water.
Just before the deep water the flat runs over an oyster bed which was only about 3 inches deep and 3 feet wide. I cast over it and had a nice hit but missed it. I had to pole around the deeper side of it and as I drifted back down to where I had had the hit I saw a school of about 5 redfish the biggest about 24 inches. The water was still glassy calm and very clear so while I was seeing the fish they were seeing me and scattering.
As I continued to drift that edge out towards the channel into Bull Bay I could see the bottom in 4-8 feet of water very clearly. I was seeing lots of reds in the shallower water but as I got farther down and deeper I started to see schools of snook. At times I saw as many as 10 snook in loose schools and they would scatter as I got near them. I cast my Gulp past them and tried bouncing it along the bottom towards them but it only seemed to frighten them off. I dropped some bait down with the same results. I think it was so clear they could watch me and could clearly see the line. Or they just weren't hungry, but either way I had no luck getting them interested in anything with a hook in it. It was nice to see them all there though.
It was getting late and I had a long way to go for my 15 mph max speed so I headed back around the point towards the Myakka River and home. The water was still glassy calm and speeding over 3 to 6 feet off water was more like flying over the terrain. Lots of stingrays and sharks were sunning themselves just inches below the surface. I saw several black tips the largest was about 4 feet and a hammerhead about 2.5 feet long. Stingrays were every where in large schools and I even saw 3 spotted eagle rays. I tried to get a photo but by the time I saw them I'd already frightened them. But here's a picture I found of the spotted eagle ray if you're interested.
I stopped at Trout Creek very briefly with no luck at all. I also stopped at the El Jobean bridge, again with no luck. I'd had 3 solid days on the water fishing and if you've ever spent days out there like that you know it will wear you out. So I headed for home and got the boat up on the lift by around 5:00 PM. Tired and relaxed, ready for a beer and to tell my fish stories of another great day on the water. First I had to clean fish for supper.
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, 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.
High Tide: 11:59 PM 1.75 FT Low Tide: 8:00 AM -0.5 FT Wind: 5-10 SW Air Temp: 69/87 Water Temp: 73 Clarity: clear
After we got back to the dock I was invited to go out with a friend, Dave, for a little night fishing. He was hoping to get some snook. Even though I was a little tired I took his offer, wolfed down a little dinner and he picked me up about 7:00 PM. We put in at the boat launch by the Coast Gaurd station in North Port and fished a few of his favorite spots on the Myakkahatchee Creek.
Within the first half hour Dave brought in a snook that was about 24 inches. Of course we had to release it because of the 28 to 33 inch slot limit. He also had several hits that he missed. During the next couple hours we missed several more fish including one that hit a live mullet on my line only 6 feet from the boat. I was back home by 10:30.
I haven't been night fishing in a long time. It was nice to get out on the water when most fishermen aren't. It is very peaceful.
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.
High Tide: 6:30 AM 1.5 FT Low Tide: 2:00 PM 0.0 FT Wind: 5-10 S Air Temp: 64/82 Water Temp: 72 Clarity: clear
My 2 sisters, Judy from New Jersey and Kate & husband James from Lakeland, FL are visiting for a weekend of fishing. The 5 of us set out from the dock, with a live well full of Sardines, at a liittle before 10:00 AM. It was still foggy so we stopped in the canal for a half hour until the sun burned through. No action in the canal.
When we got to the El Jobean bridge there were a lot of boats and all my favorite spots were occupied. We anchored out a little southeast of the bridge where the outgoing tide starts to slow. There was a school of small sand trout feeding on bait fish and the Gulp Swimming Mullet did the trick. I must have caught and released 15 small sand trout between 6 and 12 inches long.
James had never caught a fish before and I'm glad to say I helped end this streak by hooking him up with the monster sand trout you see in the *photo. Judy hooked what seemed to be a nice fish only to net a 3 foot gar. Exciting! James muscled even a bigger Gar right to the side of the boat and almost into the net when the spit hook flew over my head and stuck in the back of my shirt.
Many years ago when Kate was very young she and I would occasionally go flounder fishing and bring coktail sauce for flounder sushi from our first catch of the day. James, Kate and I tried one of the sand trout as sushi, it was unanimously agreed that sand trout is NOT sushi grade fish. It is amazingly chewy!
When my favorite spot was vacated we pulled anchor and zipped right in behind the leaving boat. The tide was just getting slack and I knew there'd be snook there shortly. And I was right, the first 2 came on the Gulp Swimming Mullet and then 2 more on live sardines. I got 3 of those and Judy got one. Kate tried hard but no luck. They all ran about 21-23 inches, a fun fish but under sized and out of season until March. But I know where to be on March 1st.
We ran out of bait around 3 and headed home. Another great day on the water. When we got home we loaded the truck and went down the street to catch tomorrows bait. So we're all ready for another day of fun in the sun. I think we'll go right out to the Myakka Cutoff to get out of the 10-20 MPH SSE wind they're predicting for today. We'll be poling around the Mangroves in very skinny water. Hopefully some big reds will be sunning with us.
*Kate took all the photos on her digital and we couldn't get them to my computer to post today. She'll email them when she gets home and I'll add them then.
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!
High Tide: 3:00 PM 1.5 FT Low Tide: 8:30 AM 0.5 FT Wind: 5-10 NE Air Temp: 54/75 Water Temp: 76 Clarity: murky
I talked my neighbor, Bimini, into going out with me this morning. Not hard when you boat 3 snook and you're talking to a fanatic fisher person. So we left a little before 6:00 AM with a well full of sardines. It was a tough ride out because the fog was so thick we couldn't see more than a couple hundred yards. I cut the cable to my GPS antenna a while ago and haven't fixed it yet and I don't have a compass on board (I will soon) so we had to go by feeling. The fog was so thick there was no way to tell from which direction the sun was coming up the sky was just a dull gray glow all around. We got lost.
We finally found we could tell direction by the way the tide was moving and then we found a shoreline that was familiar and followed it to the El Jobean Bridge. There are 2 red nuns that mark the NW side of the bridge. They are about 100 feet from the bridge which stands about 30 feet high with mercury vapor street lights another 25 feet above that. We could not see the bridge nor the lights until we were about 20 feet from the nuns, that's how bad the fog was out there. Then it finally loomed out of the gloom and we both gasped, I think the people on the fishing pier thought we were crazy, maybe we are.
But we made it, got anchored and got some bait in the water. I got a 25 inch snook about 20 minutes later and missed a couple more. But that was it for snook. Such a difference from yesterday. I lost a lot of tails off my Gulp to small sand trout, they call them sugar trout here. I got a couple in the boat the largest was 12 inches. Many people would keep those to eat but I find it to be more work than they are worth unless they're a little bigger.
By 10:00 AM we were finally warmed up by the sun but bored with the fishing so we headed home.
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.
Fish Caught: Snook, Lady Fish, Goliath Grouper, Catfish
High Tide: 6:45 PM 1.5 FT Low Tide: 11:45 AM -0.5 FT Wind: 5-10 NE Air Temp: 73/82 Water Temp: 76 Clarity: murky
Left the dock about 6:45 with a live well full of nice big sardines I netted from a local canal yesterday. We went straight out to the El Jobean bridge with the intent of anchoring on the West side of the bridge so we could drift our bait under the old section of bridge. But the tide was so fast I was worried about the anchor pulling free and crashing into the bridge before I could react, so we went around the other Charlotte Harbor side.
Hard to fish with the tide racing at you but I was casting up under the bridge and letting my bait drift along the pilings. When I could keep from snagging the bottom I usually managed a Goliath grouper and caught about 4 or 5 the biggest was about 20 inches or so. Nice fish, strong fighters, they don't like coming up from the bottom and they let you know it. Karen was letting her line drift out and sit and she was catching an occasional cat fish.
I also managed to boat a snook about 23 inches long on one drift. At this time the tide was slowing a little so this one snook was a good sign of things to come. As the tide went slack I repositioned the boat to fish my snook spot on an incoming tide.
Once the tide turned in with a little force I started hooking snook. I got 2 more one going to just under legal at 27 inches. And then finally a keeper at 29 inches. Remember our slot limit is over 28 and under 33 inches with a pinched tail.
It was about 1:30 PM when I landed that keeper and since we'd left in the dark it was already a long day so we left them biting. A great day when you can hit that tiny slot limit and bring home a nice fish dinner!
We cooked the whole snook on the grill. I make a foil tray and seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic and spritz it with lime, lemon or grapefruit juice. I cut rosemarry from our plant and place the branches on the flavor bar in the grill just before putting the fish on. It adds that smokey flavor missing from most gas grill cooked foods. We sliced an eggplant from the garden and brushed it with olive oil and lime juice and put it in the smokey grill too. Topped with a salad of arugula from the garden, it was delicious and we had leftovers for lunch.
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!
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.
High Tide: 12:15 PM 2.0 FT Low Tide: 6:00 AM 1.5 FT Wind: 5-10 SE Air Temp: 71/88 Water Temp: 80 Clarity: murky
It was one of those odd days that we are under cloud cover almost all day. We left the dock about 6:20 AM and headed straight out to the bridge over the Myakka River in El Jobean, FL. But with the wind blowing straight up Charlotte Harbor it was too rough to hold bottom so we decided to find some shelter in the Myakka Cutoff behind Hog Island. I tried a few of our favorite deep holes in the cutoff and had a few small fish steel my white bait. We moved a little farther into the cutoff to a hole I've had good luck at before. I tossed a free lined white bait up under the mangroves and it obliged by swimming farther under and attracting a nice snook. I set the hook and that snook jumped straight up out of the water and right into the mangrove, of course dragging my line with him and tangling it. He thrashed again while suspended from the mangrove and snapped my 30 lb leader. I lost 2 more fish which I'm sure were snook under the same area of mangrove.
We explored some new water way back in the cutoff and I found some places that I'll revisit but we didn't have any more luck today. The sky was looking a little threatening so we decided to head a little closer to home When we got back out to the harbor it was filled with birds diving. We ran over to marker 9 to find huge schools of lady fish feeding on something, I assume glass minnows. I guess the cooler water brought them back up into the harbor. I played with a few which I'll use to bait my crab traps.
On the way into the Apollo Waterway I threw my Gulp Swimming Mullet along the seawalls and got a nice 13 inch Mangrove Snapper, we had him for supper, along with some shark we had in the freezer.
BTW, the sail cat we got last week was okay. It tasted very good, no muddy or iodine flavor at all, a nice mild fish, but the meat was not the nice flaky white of a snook or redfish. But Karen and I agreed it would be a good fish to batter and deep fry.
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
Fish Caught: Snook, Goliath Grouper, Blacktip Shark, Lady Fish
High Tide: 5:30 AM 2.0 FT Low Tide: 1:00 PM 0.25 FT Wind: 5-10 NE Air Temp: 73/93 Water Temp: 85 Clarity: murky
We ledt the dock about 6:30 AM. Made our first stop at the end of the Jupiiter Wateryway, it was just getting light. I had a live well full of nice 3 inch sardines I netted Friday in a local canal. I put one under a popper cork, live lined one and cast my Berkley Swimming Mullet Gulp.
I played with some small lady fish on the live lined sardine and got a big sail cat on it as well. After the sun was well over the horiizon I noticed a big wake and some splashing around my bobber. Something kept smacking it and swishing around leaving quite a wake. But then left without catching my very lively sardine.
A little while later I heard a big splash at my bobber and saw a large wake and fin breaking the surface, then the bobber just took off. I was at the far end of the boat, the bail was open on my reel so I wasn't too worried. But before I could get to the pole the line snagged coming off the spool and the pole doubled over under the pull of the fish. I managed to grab it and set the hook, a very large fish. But after just 5 seconds the line went slack, when I reeled it in it had been cut clean at the leader. A big snook? They have razor sharp gill plates that will sliice threw most leader if it happens to catch it in the wrong place.
I had one more similar experience on the bobber, with the line cut after just a few aeconds, that's when I started thinking shark. We decided to move on to the end of the Jupiter Waterway. Which we drifeted with little excitement until we were near the end. Thats when I saw that wake coming towards my bobber which had drifted quite close to the boat. That's when I got my first look at a huge (for this inshore area) blacktip shark. He was over 3 feet with a broad head that poked at my bobber, not the bait.
I dropped the anchor and cast the line out again and sure enough he came back. After a few more snaps at the popper cork he finally grabbed the sardine and the fght was on. When he got hooked he went wild, almost coming out of the water splashing and thrashing his big tail. But once again he was able to cut my 30 lb monofilament leader.
We moved out to the El Jobean bridge and dropped a few sardines into the current that dragged them into the pilings. I got a small snook and goliathe grouper and lots of broken lines. It's hard to fish with that raging current. I did hook something that felt very big but again the line got cut, I suspect on the bridge.
It was getting hot in the sun so we headed home stopping to cast here and there with no further action. We were home by about 1:30, a long day, time to clean the boat and nap before dinner, fishless dinner.
My husband and I just moved down from WV., and I have been trying to find a good place where we can fish. We do not have a boat, I ave been looking trying to find a simple way to get to Boca Grande, Charlitte Harbor, well any of the places that you have listed. Please tell me a good place to fish from the shores.
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.
High Tide: 6:15 AM 2.1 FT Low Tide: 1:50 PM .1 FT Wind: 5-10 S Air Temp: 75/91 Water Temp: 85 Clarity: murky
Finally, snook are in season again. I went out on Friday to a local canal that has been holding sardines and netted a bucket which included sardines, small mullet and Striped Mojarra. On Saturday we left the dock by about 6:15 and got to the first fishing spot on the ApolloWaterway as the sun was just brightening the sky. I got a nice strike on a Heddon - Zara Puppy which I'm pretty certain was a mid sized snook. They love that top water lure, one of the few I've had luck with.
We went on to the sea walls down at the end of the canal and drifted through throwing a Berkley Gulp 4 inch White Swimming Mullet. The sea walls were alive with fish popping and any wake that brushed the walll seemed to energized the fish. I suspect they are eating those little bugs that always crawl just above the water line and the wake probably washes a few into the fishes reach.
I hooked something very large on the Gulp but lost it after only about 15 seconds. It felt big and more like a snook than a jack which are common to that area. Once the sun was up full the activity there stopped so we headed out to the El Jobean bridge.
The tide was moving extremely fast at the bridge. I saw tarpon rolling and was surprised that I couldn't hook one up on the sardines. But it was hard to keep from being washed into the pilings and after losing a few rigs and only catching small goliath grouper we moved out to one of the bays behind Hog Island.
It was hot in the mangroves and not much action. I boated one small snook, about 18 inches, on the Gulp and the sky started looking very threatening. We headed back to the bridge with the intent of waiting out the storm under its protection. But after another half hour the storm seemed to be intensifying and the wind started blowing us around so much we decided to run before we got stuck in the worst of it.
It turned out to be one of those very local storms and in 5 minutes we were back in the sun looking at the storm coming slowly behind us. We were back at the dock just before noon, another enjoyable day on the water.
High Tide: 8:15 AM 2.1 FT Low Tide: 2:15 AM 0.8 FT Wind: 5-10 NW Air Temp: 97/73 Water Temp: 87 Clarity: average
It's been so hot an humid but not very much rain for this time of the year. We have a drainage culvert along the edge of our property that normally runs down into the canal pretty regularly in July and August. Snook love to sit just outside that torrent and catch frogs, bugs, etc. that get washed down. It has only trickled out of that pipe a couple times this season. And fishing in general has been a little slow and the weather has been too hot to enjoy it.
But we decided to get out early and since we had an 8:15 high tide we left the dock before 6:00 AM. I found some nice sardines schooling in the canal on my way out and put 30 or so in my live well. I casted the sea walls at the end of the Apollo Watery way with a Pop'R but no luck
We were anchored at the El Jobean bridge by around 7:00 AM so we still had the incoming tide. I was throwing a Gulp 3" Sardine while letting the live bait drift into the bridge pilings with just a small split shot. Had a couple strikes on the Gulp when the live bait pole bent over pretty hard. I managed to grab it before the fish got free and fought a nice healthy 22" snook to the boat. Of course that's undersize and out of season so I tossed him back.
Did you know the snook regulations have been changed effective on the next opening day which is September 1, 2007? They changed the slot limit to 28" to 33" inches with pinched tail and the closed season was expanded to include all of December and February. Snook closed season is now May-August and December-February. But please check with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for updates, they seem to want to change them frequently.
I also had a 3.5 inch striped mojarra that I fished under the bridge. A goliath grouper inhaled that and gave me a nice battle back to the boat. He was about 12 inches long and of course goliath grouper being a federally protected fish I unhooked him as quickly as possible and got him back in the water. It's nice to see them coming back, I’ve heard of many much larger goliath being caught in deeper waters. Maybe some day we'll be allowed to but one on our dinner table.
By about 9:30 it was getting awful warm in the sun so we moved under the bridge into the shade. I fed the rest of my sardines to what I assume where mangrove snapper but I never got one into sight. I saw quite a few tarpon rolling around in the shade but I couldn't seem to hook one.
By 10:30 we were getting bored and hot so we headed home. A pleasant short day on the water, but I'm ready for cooler weather.
High Tide: 10:45 AM 2 FT Low Tide: 7:45 PM -0.25 FT Wind: 5-10 SW Air Temp: 75/93 Water Temp: 87 Clarity: clear
We decided to take the boat back home today. It was a nice stay at Eldred's Marina and we'll do it again sometime, maybe when its a little cooler. Karen drove me down and took the truck home and I set out for the long ride back to the Myakka River at about 7:15 AM.
One of the reasons we came down here was because I'd heard so much about fishing Bull Bay. As we came down on Monday we got a little lost coming around that point and it seemed a little far for us to travel out to Bull Bay each day. Well, having learned a little about the area it turns out is was only about a 35-40 minute ride in our slow (15 MPH top speed) pontoon boat. So I stopped on the way home to see what Bull Bay was like.
I was surprised to find buildings on stilts in the bay. I've been told fishing boats used these buildings to drop their cargo, could be true. I was dreaming about what it would be like to wake up there every morning, fishing right from my bedroom window. But it was awful hot out there, a fact which was not included in my day dream. What ever they are it was a bit of a surprise. The channel into Bull bay is about 6-7 feet deep. there were several boats in sight so I chose a spot away from them directly to the left as I entered. the water was calm and I could see lots of bait and mullet jumping on the point of a mangrove island which divided the bay from Charlotte harbor. I threw my cast net and got a net full of white bait and pinfish. I put a pinfish under a bobber and started throwing a Gulp 3" Sardine. After about 10 minutes I hooked a small snook on my Gulp. It was a real fighter and managed to jump right near the boat and spit the hook. I was just straightening the Gulp when my bobber went down with a plunk. I grabbed that rod and set the hook on a nice sized fish. I was pretty sure it was a big red by the way it stayed down and moved a little slower swinging that big head until the hook came free. I never did get to see it.
I got a few catfish on pinfish and white bait and decided to try casting the shorline. There was a large area of dead mangrove, I assume the effects of Hurricane charley, along one point near to some deep water. I started at one end and about halfway down I got a perfect cast down a little opening between some dead branches. I cranked the Gulp out about 3 feet when a got a solid hit and set the hook on a very nice fish. A few minutes later I netted a nice 24" red fish. So glad I stopped at Bull bay, I wish I'd made the trip out there on Monday, the first day of our stay in Gasparilla Sound.
The ride home was mostly uneventful. I hit a little rain just skirting the main part of a heavy downpour. I made my dock in NW Port Charlotte by 11:30 AM. I am glad to have the boat home and cleaned again but I'm looking forward to my next trip to Bull Bay and Gasparilla Sound.
High Tide: 5:00 PM 2.3 FT Low Tide: 1:00 AM -.5 FT Wind: 5-10 E Air Temp: 71/91 Water Temp: 83 Clarity: murky
Left the dock at 6:00 AM, hot and muggy already. I netted some white bait just under the Biscayne bridge, a little scary with 50-100 bats coming back to roost, they were all around us. I was afraid of catching them when I threw the cast net.
Made a few casts by the mouth of the Apollo canal with a Gulp Swimming Mullet, lost a few tails probably to snapper. Threw my cast net and came up with 2 striped majjara (too big for bait) and a redfish about 10 inches long.
We stopped under the El Jobean Bridge and I used up my bait and a couple more Gulp playing around with small snappers.
We headed out for Trout Creek at about 8:30 AM. Came across 2 guys in a boat chasing something very large around on relatively light tackle. It came to the surface a few times, never jumped but we got a short look at what I think was a 5 foot shark. After 20 minutes watching we got bored and headed on, we’ll never know what it was for sure. If you were out near marker 9 on this Sunday morning please send me an email, I’d love to know what that was. Be glad to put your photo up here if you can get one to me.
Things were slow at Trout Creek, a lot of little bites on my Gulp, mostly just lost the tails. So I decided to try real shallow water, I pulled the anchor and poled into that first tiny shallow cove. I dropped the anchor just inside where I could cast to the entire cove. I finally tried a Heddon - Zara Puppy, about 3 inches long (its a small version of the spook). I immediately started getting snook smashing that spook out of the water. The hits were vicious but I never hooked one. I felt them many times but they seemed to be just attacking not eating. I was getting at least 1 hit every cast and sometimes 3 in a single retrieve. Some fish were very small but there were some nice big ones in there as well. It was a great 1/2 hour of action even though I had no fish in the boat. I did get 1 snook in the boat when I threw the cast net again, a small stingray as well.
We trolled around the harbor a while with no action. I did see a guy pull up a nice net full of sardines all appeared to be about 3 inches long, nice bait. This was also near marker 9 and I did mark some as I passed through. Not a huge school that I could see and tough to find to net but if you were in the right place, you were set for the day with bait.
High Tide: 4:00 PM 2.25 FT Low Tide: 12:10 AM -.25 FT Wind: 10-20 W Air Temp: 71/88 Water Temp: 78 Clarity: murky
Had a few days of rain and wind because of Tropical Storm Barry. So Sunday morning when we woke around 5:30 AM and the wind was light we decided to take a trip out. They were still predicting high wind so we decided to try the canal again. We left the dock about 6:30 and got about halfway out, just under the bridge at Biscayne Rd. and I noticed a large school of bait. I threw the net once and filled my live well with about 50 small green backs.
When we got to the end of the Apollo Waterway I saw a lot of action along the north sea wall, a place I never concentrated on before. So I set us up to drift the length of the wall and dragged a shiner while casting the Gulp Swimming Mullet at the wall. I got a nice 19-20 inch snook on the Gulp and immediately after letting it go I hooked into a huge Jack on the bait. A tiny little rod with a huge Jack is a lot of work and I went around that boat twice passing the rod between the openings in my bimini top before we finally got him in a net.
I caught a few small Mangrove snappers around a drain pipe that comes out of the sea wall. I had a small one almost to the boat when a snook that was very near 3 feet long tried to eat the snapper. He didn’t get it but he gave me a good look at him, I’ll be looking for him from now on.
It was a very pleasant morning, cool, breezy and refreshing. I think we will make many short trips to those local waters this summer.
Fish Caught: Snook, Lady Fish, Spanish Mackerel, Catfish, Stingray
High Tide: 5:00 PM 2.5 FT Low Tide: 1:00 AM -.5 FT Wind: 10-20 NE Air Temp: 66/89 Water Temp: 79 Clarity: clear
We left the dock about 7:00 AM, without checking the weather since the evening before. We made our first stop at the Bridge over the Myakka in El Jobean, FL. I bought a new Gulp called "Greenback" which looks very much like a threadfin sardine. It is shaped like a fish but has a lump on its tail that causes it to swim when you pull it through the water.
On my first cast with that lure I hooked a spanish mackerel about 19". Nothing more there for a half hour and the wind started picking up and blowing us around so we headed for trout creek.
We anchored in that first big cove in trout creek, we were watching a bunch of pelicans diving as we approached, thought that was a very good sign. Well they weren’t afraid of us at all and for the 3 hours we fished there they kept up the comical group fishing all around us. I took a video on my little digital still camera, its not great but here it is, Pelican video.
My Mom and Dad are with us on this trip. They were fishing live shrimp, my Mom under a cork and my Dad on the bottom. Plenty of catfish for both and my Mom also got a stingray. I was throwing my new green back Gulp and got a couple ladyfish.
Then, about 11:30 I hit a huge snook on my Gulp. A great fight around the boat, under the motor, passing the pole between the bimini top and finally landed a 28" snook.Unfortunately the season is closed because that 28 inch fish would have made a great dinner, I got 1 more about 23" before we decided to leave. It was getting very windy out in the harbor, there were no boats looking for cobia like we had expected, maybe they checked the morning weather report.
We made our way into the shelter of Hog Island at trolling speed pulling a few lures. About halfway up Hog Island in 7 feet of water my Dad hooked a nice Spanish Mackerel about 22". We got several more bites a small one in the boat and Karen had a nice one on that cut the 35lb florocarbon leader right at the boat.
It was a great day on the water, we were back at the dock by about 2:30 with fish to clean.
High Tide: 2:45 PM 1.5 FT Low Tide: 8:45 AM .25 FT Wind: 5-10 NW Air Temp: 70/89 Water Temp: 80 Clarity: not clear
Since its warming up we decided to make an early morning run out to the bridge over the Myakka River at El Jobean, FL. The tide was with us as well, with low being about 8:45 AM. We left the dock about 6:30 AM a beautiful time to be on the water when the weather is so nice.
We got anchored and started fishing by a little after 7:00 AM. I threw my Gulp Swimming Mullet with no action. I had caught some bait fish from my dock earlier in the week and I put one on a hook with a tiny split shot to keep it down. It’s hard to get it to stay near the pilings on an outgoing tide where we anchor. So no action on that either until the tide changed about 9:15 or so.
9:15 is about when I caught the 24.5" snook in the photo below. I got it on the bait fish not the Gulp. I caught the bait fish with a cast net from my dock. There were 2 different kinds, one I know the name of -- Striped Mojarra and the other, more abundant, is very similar to a scaled sardine but they don’t have that sharp pointy belly. They are also less hardy and harder to keep alive.
I made a bait basket from the plans at BaitBaskets.com and I find I can easily keep the bait hung from my dock for 3 or 4 days. I throw my net for a few days before a planned fishing trip and I can usually get a dozen or so to give me a head start in the morning. When I was fishing I was watching 4 or 5 other boats searching for a school of bait fish throwing that heavy net out and coming back empty. There were jacks in the water so the bait gets scattered and hard to net. I was glad to have put my time in before fishing day.
I missed a few other hits on the Gulp and bait and was down to my last Striped Mojarra which was rather large about 4" and since they are a rather tall fish its like putting a small salad plate on your hook. I wasn’t too confident about a snook eating that big thing, but one did. I was sure it would be a monster to eat that bait but it was almost identical to the last one about 24.5."
After another half hour we ran over to the bays behind Hog Island. I got a couple more snook about 18-22" before I tired out. We headed home about 2:00 PM.
As we neared the bridge where we started the day we saw jacks in a full feeding frenzy. I could resist so I stopped and tossed a Gulp out and immediately hooked a big Jack. What a strong fish they are, I had a good battle with him and let him go back to his school. Another pleasant day in Charlotte Harbor.
High Tide: 5:15 PM 2.2 FT Low Tide: 10:15 AM 1 FT Wind: 0-5 NW Air Temp: 60/85 Water Temp: 75 Clarity: clear
We drove (by car) over the El Jobean Bridge at about 9:00 AM and saw glassy calm water so we decided to get right home and go out fishing. We made the bridge at about 10:30 AM and I got a small (20") snook on my second cast with a Gulp Swimming Mullet. I also fished some small bait we netted from our dock and had one nice hit on one but missed it.
After an hour with nothing else we headed to the bays behind Hog Island. There's a little hole not to far into what I call First Bay, it's the bay just to the north of the Myakka Cut Off. I was throwing my Gulp at the mangroves in about 3 ft of water when there was a huge swirl and sudden tug on my line. The line snapped instantly, I suspect I'd nicked it on the barnacles at the bridge. One of the reasons I'd moved on from there was I got snagged in the bridge pilings and although I got my hook free I was missing the Gulp. But whatever it was that snapped that line was very big. I wish I had a chance to at least see it. The way the water was disturbed I was thinking it could have been a tarpon. But tarpon don’t get into that shallow water too often. So a tarpon sized snook? I can always dream.
I also got a nice redfish on and lost that. Got it close enough to see before it spit my gulp. Just one of those trips when a little better luck would have completely changed the out come and made for a much better supper!
High Tide: 4:45 PM 2.25 FT Low Tide: 10:30 AM 1 FT Wind: 5-10 NW Air Temp: 60/83 Water Temp: 75 Clarity:
Our neighbors and good friends across the canal from us are fanatic fisherpeople. Since Bimini and Julie are native to SWFL they have been helping us to learn fishing here. Whille we make the 30-50 minute trip out to the bigger waters of Charlotte Harbor they like to spend their time fishing more locally in our canals (Apollo, Jupiter and Bayshore waterways). Bimini especially spends many hours on their dock with a line in the water.
Well this afternoon we heard quite a commotion from the canal and ran out in time to see Bimini with a nice snook in her net. The photo below is the view from our patio across the canal to their backyard. I know it doesn’t show the fish well but Bimini is holding her 29" snook up for my photo. It’s tail is in front of that yellow bucket.
Anyone that has ever caught a snook knows what a strong fighting fish they are. A 29" fish is a big fish especially on a light rod with only 15 lb test. Bimini did a good job to get it in that net!
High Tide: 2:45 PM 1.2 FT Low Tide: 6:15 PM 1 FT Wind: 5-10 SW Air Temp: 85 Water Temp: 74 Clarity: clear
On a spur of the moment decision we left the dock about 1:00 PM right after a thunderstorm just missed us. The skies were cloudy and we got a little rain but no major storm. By the time we got the boat in and out on the water the sun was out and so were many other fisherman, The bridge at El Jobean, FL was crowded so we went on to Muddy Cove off Tippecanoe Bay behind Hog Island.
I caught 1 snook about 20" and that was it.
On the way back in there were only a few boats left at the bridge so we stopped at about 4:00 PM. I threw my Gulp Swimming Mullet for a while but no luck at all.
We had a visit from a Wildlife Conservation Officer. He checked us for safety equipment. While it's fresh on my mind I'll list everything that he asked for (we had everything).
Life Jackets (1 for each person on board)
Throwable Flotation (seat cushions)
Fire Extinquisher
Horn or Whistle (we have one of those canned air horns)
Boat Registration (he said this was not important but he would ask us to carry it from now on -- then I found it)
High Tide: 4:30 PM 1.7 FT Low Tide: 11:00 AM .5 FT Wind: 5-10 SE Air Temp: 63/86 Water Temp: 74 Clarity: not clear
Left the dock about 8:30 AM headed for the bridge over the Myakka River at El Jobean, FL. I wanted to catch low slack tide into the incoming tide. I’ve been doing pretty well there with snook just as the incoming starts. Not so today. I did get one small snook, about 20-22". We only fished until about 12:30 but the tide was running pretty good by then.
There were lots of what appeared to be jack smashing bait fish over on the northwest end of the bridge. A few boats headed over there when they hit but I didn’t see anybody catch anything. Hard to believe, I’d be afraid to stick my finger in the water when they’re feeding that hard
At one time a huge stingray jumped about 5 feet out of the water. I just happened to look up as he did it. A little while later I hooked a big one (stingray) and had a heck of a battle to get him to the boat. He was about 3 feet wing tip to wing tip. It was the kind of stingray you see more in open water not the ones that stick to the bottom. He was quite heavy, I’ll guess 20 lbs, very thick body and a very strong aggressive fight not like an old tire like a lot of rays. I thought I had a monster jack.
We left the dock about 7:00 AM, without checking the weather since the evening before. We made our first stop at the Bridge over the Myakka in El Jobean, FL. I bought a new Gulp called "Greenback" which looks very much like a threadfin sardine. It is shaped like a fish but has a lump on its tail that causes it to swim when you pull it through the water.
Since its warming up we decided to make an early morning run out to the bridge over the Myakka River at El Jobean, FL. The tide was with us as well, with low being about 8:45 AM. We left the dock about 6:30 AM a beautiful time to be on the water when the weather is so nice.