I know we've had periods of hard fishing in years past, but boy I'll tell you, this past week or so has erased the memories of previous episodes of lockjawed fish. Several cold fronts in a row with no reprieve in between, an absurdly high barometer, very cold water temperatures, and depleted stocks of one of our go-to winter species, speckled trout, have combined with very poor tides toward the end of the week to matters even worse. I'm not trying to run you potential customers away. This too, shall pass. But, if I'm going to accurately report on what's happening here, then I have to tell it as it is, and right now it's very tough to catch anything other than sheephead and the occasional black drum, or perhaps ladyfish. Yet, as tough as the catching was this week, the fishing was fantastic, and I've ironically had some of the most enjoyable days on the water with my friends and customers that I can remember.
First up this week was Andy Mount, and his daughter Rachael, who I first fished with around this time last year, along with his other daughter, Stephanie. We had a great day of big trout fishing. That day had started out slow, and then turned hot. This day would start out slow, and remain slow. We left the dock at 7 AM armed with a variety of artificial baits, and the knowledge that with the water temp in the 50's we were in for a hard day.
At our first stop, normally a wonderful place to be in the dead of a southwest Florida winter, Rachael caught the only fish. And, and a nice one it was. She scored a fat, 5 pound trout on an Exude RT Slug. Surgery at the ramp later revealed that part of it's weight and big belly were at least a dozen mojarra in its stomach! Usually, when you find one big trout like that, you will find many, but we couldn't buy another strike. After working the area over well, we moved on.
WINTER FISHING FUN!
For the next few spots the results were the same. Nothing would bite. So, now fighting the clock and the tide, I decided to take Andy and Rachael grouper fishing. Often, they will eat when nothing else will, and they fight like gangbusters on the light gear. Getting them out of the rocky homes is a real challenge.
Once at our destination, we were greeted with a bite. It wasn't a hot bite, but a bite, and Andy and Rachael managed 6 or 7 nice gag grouper that were averaging 17 to 20 inches. The best part was that we did it without loosing a single rig or fish in the rocks. We thought we'd finally lost one on the last fish of the day, when Rachael got slammed, and was then immediately stuck in the rocks. She was sure she had been hit, but it had been instantaneous. I explained that her grouper was in the rocks with it's gills flared, and that we would not likely get it out. I pulled and pulled on the stuck line and could tell there was a fish on the other end, but nothing would give. So, we pulled anchor and moved over the rocks, where I was able to put the rod down into the water and get a different angle on the fish. I still expected to just break the line or leader, but all of a sudden the fish let go and out it came. Rachael seemed amazed, and it was a bit of a small victory on a tough day.
WINTER FISHING FUN!
We ended what had nonetheless been a fun day with a great lunch at the Waterfront Restaurant before heading home to clean our fish. It had been great to share the boat with Andy and Rachael once again.
WINTER FISHING FUN!
Tuesday, I would finally get to spend a day with my good friend Dr. John Hitt, who has many of you have notice has been conspicuously absent from these pages since last June. He's healthy and looking great and once again able to fish, and more than ready for some time on the water.
I met John at his dock at around 9 AM. We had talked, and he knew things would be tough. Although it was cold, it was a good looking weather day, and a nice day to be on the water. But, with a water temperature of around 58 and a barometer at 30.30, I knew we were going to work hard for what we caught on artificials.
John and I decided we'd go to the Sanibel side and check on some of our favorite winter potholes. For as long as I've fished them they consistently give up outsized speckled trout, and plenty of them. Well, upon arriving at our destination, we were surprised to see the water so clear, that if it weren't for the glare from the sun, you'd swear there was no water there! Another strike against our cause.
We worked the area over well, moving from hole to hole. I did finally see one nice trout as it bolted from the edge of a hole after we had fished it. So, we knew there were some fish present. They just weren't eating. But, upon reaching the last hole we were still without so much as a hit. We had eliminated that spot from our list of things to do on our subsequent trips later in the week.
We had spent a lot of time working those holes, and now just wanted to try to catch something. We opted for Long Cut, which is usually slightly warmer. It's usually full of winter visitors who are sheephead fishing, but we just fish around them. They're usually on anchor, and we're usually on the trolling motor until we find a good trout bite.
Shortly after arriving, we caught a nice snook! I couldn't believe a snook would even be in 58 degree water and not be comatose, say nothing of be willing to eat something. I suspect the lure hit him on the head and he struck in retaliation! Who knows! But, it certainly was an unexpected twist in the fishing. John soon got a very nice trout, and for a fleeting moment, we thought we might even encounter a bite, but it wasn't to be. We had some bumps, but the fish just weren't interested in actually eating. The only other fish caught was a ladyfish.
WINTER FISHING FUN!
We went home with our one nice trout having enjoyed a great day on the water feeling a small sense of victory.
Wednesday was my second trip with Paul Davey, of Wantaugh, New York. I fished with for the first time last year during this same time, as I had Andy Mount. Last year, it had been Paul and his wife, Lisa. This year Paul was with his two daughters, and today it was nine year old Jessica's turn. Last year Paul, Lisa, and I had a fantastic trip. It wasn't until I looked back at last year's fishing report out of curiosity, that I realized we fished last year at this time in 75 degree water! On this morning our water was around 60 degrees. That 15 degree difference alone can shut our fishing down. Say nothing of the other factors that are always involved. I picked up Paul and Jessica at the Waterfront Restaurant at 11 AM. I told Paul that when you take kids fishing, you have to fish for the kids, and he understood what I meant. After evaluating all the options and the weighing results from my trips and those of other guides, I decided the best thing to do was to take them sheephead fishing. At least they were likely to bite to some degree. Paul was good with that, and had even brought a rod and reel for Jessica to use out of concern that she could loose one of my high-dollar rigs over the side should a big fish attack her bait.
I was armed with a well full of nice hand-picked shrimp, and it was only a matter of minutes before we were anchored in Long Cut dunking shrimp pieces on the bottom for Sheepies. It took Jessica and Paul a while to get the hang of sheephead fishing, as it's almost an art form, but once they did, they caught plenty and had fun. I did most of the casting for Jessica, as the line was heavier than we typically use for such fishing, and hard for her to cast with just a split-shot and a piece of shrimp.
WINTER FISHING FUN!
Early in the fishing, I had an opportunity to demonstrate my well honed casting skills with Paul's rig, which is shorter than I'm used to using. I made a cast for Jessica and smacked Paul on the head with the float, and then hooked his hat and simultaneously snatched it off his head! Geez! Fortunately, it wasn't a hard cast, and Paul was still standing. My record of never hooking a customer is still perfect! Paul assured me he was OK, and we had a good laugh. But, I removed the float rig, which was quite long, in favor of the split shot rig. I had only gone with it because I thought it might make it easier for Jessica to see a bite. But, it wasn't working, anyway.
After several hours, I could tell Jessica was winding down. From the sheephead we went to see if the grouper would bite. You can probably anticipate the answer. Nada! I asked Paul if he'd like to go try to find a redfish, also telling him the chance were slim, but he was game to go for it. So, we were off to a place where the redfish are usually cruising this time of year if there's water enough on the flat. The water there was gin clear, and the fish could probably see us coming a mile away. We never saw a fish. We drifted across a part of the flat casting our gold and silver spoons as far as we could, hoping to reach fish we couldn't see. But, we never had a hit. But this time, Jessica was ready to go home, and we headed back to the Waterfront. It had been a good day for Jessica, and after all, that's what it was all about.
I met John Hitt again at 10 AM on Thursday. After telling John of the fishing for the other days in the week thus far, I advanced an idea that we go spend a relaxing day anchored up sheephead fishing. I had tried to reserve some live hand-picked shrimp for our efforts, but the shrimpers still had not delivered by the time we reached the ramp. So, we opted for frozen shrimp and sandfeas, some small hooks, and slide sinkers, and sheephead fishing we went.
Driven by the north wind, the tide was still going out when we arrived to claim a spot in Long Cut. Nothing would bite. Finally, when the water began to turn around, we caught a small snapper. As the water got moving in earnest, we caught a few sheephead, but the pickings were slim, and the fishing had indeed gotten tougher and tougher as the week had progressed. The water was bouncing around 62 degrees.
John did have a chance to demonstrate his advanced angling abilities when he landed a sheephead of not more than 3 inches in length. You've got to be good to do that. Even though the bite was very slow, we were in no hurry to take off. We were having a great time relaxing, enjoying the beautiful day, chatting and catching up on things. It was a truly no pressure day, and very enjoyable.
As we were preparing to head home, I told John that given the almost total absence of a bite, and the worsening conditions as the week went along, that I wouldn't mind if he wanted to opt out of our trip on Friday. After considering that we'd had two very relaxing days on the water, he decided he could indeed put the day to good use at home.
I met Fraser Dougall Saturday morning at the Waterfront Restaurant for our second trip of the month. Our first one had been tough enough. I had arranged for him to fish the day before with another local guide because I had been booked with John Hitt. Fraser told me they had used live shrimp for bait, and only caught two fish. He didn't really have to tell me. I would have bet on as much. This was my first time with his two good friends, Wally and Hume, and I knew it was going to be tough to get anything going. Again, I had waited around at the ramp for the shrimpers to deliver their live shrimp to Shack Baits, but eventually had to leave before they arrived, if they ever did. So, we would be fishing artificials only.
We headed up into the Sound to our first stop comfortable in the knowledge that we had a beautiful day to be out, and that Fraser is a man who knows all to well that sometimes the fish just don't bite. I really wanted to make something happen for the boys, especially since they'd had one tough day the day before, but it just wasn't in the cards. One of the boys hooked a nice trout at the first stop, but didn't get it to the boat. We never had another hit there.
But, it didn't take me long to realize that I had a bunch of great, fun guys in the boat, and that I was going to have a fun day regardless of the fishing. With the bite so slow I had time to give the boys my "BarHopp'R Casting Clinic", and then had fun nagging them about doing what I'd taught them for most of the day. We laughed and joked and carried on, and had a grand time. We managed to catch one grouper after that trout, and that was it. The fish were just absolutely lockjawed! Fraser, Hume, and Wally took it in stride, and kept on fishing, ever optimistic that something would bite on the very next cast. But, that something never did, and finally arm weary from a day of casting, we tossed in the towel.
But, if there was a better way to end a week of no bite, I can't imagine what it could be. I had more pure fun and laughs with Fraser, Wally, and Hume than I've had in a long time. I'm glad we went, and sure enjoyed sharing the boat with such a great bunch of guys.
WINTER FISHING FUN!
And, that's the way it went. It's hard to say when; this week, next week. But, at some point the water temperature will hit a magic number, and the barometer will retreat, the cold fronts will fail to push this far south, and things will turn on. We'll be looking at great spring fishing, and I know we're all more than ready for that. In the meantime, anyone know where I can buy a bite?
