Our Waters are Coming Back to Life

I wouldn’t say we had a great week of fishing but it was good and getting better each day. Our water temperatures are slowly rising and it’s getting easier to pattern fish again. The waters are coming to life with the warming as dolphin are everywhere again, birds are active and we come across pods of two to three dozen manatees foraging in Charlotte Harbor.


We fished Matlacha Pass both north and south of the bridge and the bite was better to the north, especially for trout. They were in the deeper cuts between Islands on the low water and mixed with ladyfish. We found a lot of small fish mixed in with about one in six of keeper size. Early in the day the best bet was keeping the bait near the bottom, either a live shrimp with a minimal amount of weight or a shrimp imitation soft plastic worked slowly was best. We averaged about a half dozen redfish each morning in the Pass, but all small between sixteen and eighteen inches.

In the afternoons we fished Pine Island Sound and found the trout to be much larger on average. We did not get any huge fish, but plenty in the eighteen inch class. We found the best bite off shorelines where the depth tapered from four to six feet near Cayo Costa Island and Cabbage Key. Just the opposite as the morning a shrimp under a popping cork easily out fished one on bottom. Chartreuse colored shad tail soft plastics on a quarter-ounce jig head also worked well.

The sheepsheads we caught this week were either big or small, one cast you would get one eight inches followed by a two pounder. The largest we caught weighed five pounds. We were fishing submerged structure near Boca Grande Pass and also boated a few gag grouper up to twenty inches and several mangrove snapper, all on shrimp.

   A cold front is pushing through this weekend with a warming trend at the first of the week. The waters should continue to gradually warm as the month progresses. Look for improved trout fishing with an increase in numbers and larger fish in the upcoming weeks.

“Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell

Southwest Florida Fishing Improves with Warming Trend

This week our weather pattern was what we expect from southwest Florida, mild days with highs near eighty. We had a couple rainy days, but overall it was a vast improvement from the deadly cold we recently experienced. The fish are slowly coming around, the water temperature doesn’t rise as quickly as the air, early in the week the water was still too cold but by week’s end the fishing was getting better each day. Even the manatees and dolphins reappeared in the bays.

We found several areas holding a lot of big sheepsheads but we never could get a good bite established. Our best stop on one day was four nice fish from one spot then it was over and time to move on. We did catch redfish almost everywhere we caught sheepsheads, but they were smaller (rat) reds averaging about sixteen to seventeen inches. We were fishing shrimp on a number 2 bait keeper hook with just enough weight to keep in on bottom while fishing oyster bars in Matlacha Pass and northern Pine Island Sound near Cabbage Key.

Trout fishing started out slow early in the week then gained momentum heading into the weekend as each day brought warmer water temperatures. We caught trout but we really had to move and work for them more than I like. We would pull up on a hole; first line would hit the water and BAM fish on. Here we go I thought, then most times that would be it or it would be a long wait until the next bite. We did fish one hole in Matlacha Pass where four anglers had fast action with trout. Most were just shy of the fifteen inch limit, but they did manage a half dozen keepers from the hole. We were fishing shrimp under a bobber, shrimp on a jig head and white quarter ounce buck tails tipped with shrimp. The bite was noticeable better over the incoming tide the later part of the week. We also caught a wide assortment of other critters including grouper, snapper, flounder, lizard fish, needlefish, stingrays and blowfish, this time of year it’s fun just to guess what the next fish is going to be.

A quick update on the post freeze snook status. As we mentioned last week snook season in Florida is suspended until September first at the earliest. The FWC is still gathering data on dead fish counts, their latest predictions are that 125 to 250,000 snook perished in the state. That is roughly ten percent of the snook population of the state. If that is accurate, we will hopefully see them come back relatively quick. This is a preliminary figure and more than likely will change several times, I know a lot of people that witnessed the kill first hand think that is a low number. You can monitor the latest status online at www.myfwc.com. or www.snookfoundation.com.

With the current warming trend fishing should continue to vastly improve as the water warms. There are a lot of big trout out there and they should get really active in the upcoming weeks.

“Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell

Thawing Out in Southwest Florida

Dead Snnok in Pineland

After a long stretch of unprecedented cold weather we are finally thawing out in southwest Florida. As many have already reported our snook population took a pretty hard hit as unknown numbers succumbed to the cold. Early reports suggest the number statewide is very high but too early to get an accurate count. We should have a fairly accurate estimation of how many fish were killed in upcoming days. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission executed an executive order suspending the spring snook season. Season will remain closed until September when it will be reevaluated. You can go to their website at www.myfwc.com/ for updates. With Mother Nature we have no control, just like hurricanes, events like this happen for a reason beyond or comprehension, nature's way of keeping everything in balance I guess. Our snook population will rebound as it has many times in the past, if we all do our part it will be sooner rather than later.


Despite the cold our sunrises are still beautiful

Not much to report for actual fishing this week, due to the cold we moved our trips back a week or two. I did get out and do a little scouting and fishing should get back on course in a few days as the water warms. With the clear water I located really good numbers of big trout absorbing sun over grass flats adjacent to deep water in northern Pine island Sound and on oyster bar drops in Matlacha Pass. I ran across one of the largest sheepsheads schools I have seen in a long time. The school easily numbered over two hundred and most looked to be two pounds or larger. Large schools of ladyfish were slow moving but they appeared to be doing well throughout Charlotte Harbor and in the Sound. I also saw small pods of redfish scattered across the grass flats in the Sound.

Looking forward to some warmer weather!

For charter information please contact us at (239)283-7960
Or www.fishpineisland.com

Call Today and “Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell

Too Cold To Fish In Southwest Florida

I know compared to what’s going on to our north our weather probably isn’t that bad, but with temperatures expected to dip into the low thirties again tonight it really hurts our fishing in sub-tropical southwest Florida.

Its funny looking back to my first couple years of guiding professionally, as a Florida boy I did not like the cold at all. Matter of fact if the high for the day was below eighty degrees I would encourage cancelling the trip. I quickly came to the realization that my definition of cold was far different than those visiting from the north. I would hear comments like “What are you talking about this is the warmest weather we have seen in three months” when I would call the day before to discourage the trip. While I was bundled up with every ounce of cold weather clothes I own they would show up on the dock in shorts and a cooler of beer. It took about two years to adapt and now I always let the customer make the call that it’s too cold for them to fish.



Now, I actually enjoy cold weather fishing, but this week was the exception. I had three charters scheduled and all three of my clients decided it was too cold for them and I had to agree, it was uncomfortably cold most of the week. I did fish on one of the coldest days for about three hours and that was enough. We stayed in south Matlacha Pass, semi-protected from the brutal north wind. We actually caught a good number of fish for the conditions, nothing huge (with the exception of a couple big sheepsheads) but a lot of fish. Fishing small live shrimp on a quarter-ounce jig head around oyster bars we caught small (rat reds) redfish, sheepsheads, a couple trout and lots of ladyfish. With the cold weather even the ladyfish were lethargic; they fought like trout, hardly any jumping or hard pulling. After three hours we were chilled to the bone and had had enough.



Extended cold weather can be devastating to some of our native species with snook at the top of the list. It’s a natural occurrence and has happened many times going back to my childhood. I have seen massive kills that make your stomach churn. Hopefully this won’t be one of them, let’s hope the damage from the cold is minimal and we will soon get on a warming trend. I don’t mind a few days of cold but so far the start of 2010 has been ridiculous!



For charter information please contact us at (239)283-7960

Call today and “Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell

Southwest Florida Cold Weather Fishing

This past week we got our first dose of cold weather fishing as we switched from live shiners and pinfish to shrimp. The cold has pushed most of the bait fish to warmer waters to our south so it’s time to switch to shrimp and look alike imitations. The fish we catch usually don’t average as large as when we are live baiting but the action can be very good at times. We fished south Matlacha Pass on a cold day with a strong north wind and caught a lot of fish, not a big variety only redfish and sheepsheads but a lot of them. A couple stops the redfish bite was non-stop, the only problem was they were all less than eighteen inches. Still a lot of fun as long as you’re heart is not set on a redfish dinner. We did however boat enough nice sheepsheads for a good fish dinner. We were fishing small live shrimp on number 2 hooks with just enough weight to keep it on bottom.
Trout Season is once again open

The next day we ventured to north Pine Island Sound, we had a couple young boys on board and were looking for action not food. We found good action with Sheepsheads, grouper and snapper while fishing shrimp over submerged piles of debris in eight to ten foot depths. A good number of the sheepsheads and snapper were legal size and the largest grouper was about twenty inches, but we had a lot of double and triple hook-ups to keep the boys happy.
Despite the cold the redfish are still biting

Like a fool we attempted to fish New Years Day and got about an hour of fishing in the books before the rains came. The morning started good, we boated snook on the first two casts then a redfish shortly after followed by a trout. These weren’t huge fish but a good start to the morning. Once the bite died off we began idling to another Island when the weather took a turn for the worst. After waiting about a half hour tucked in the protection of the mangroves to see if it was going to blow over we decided we had had enough. Luckily we stayed close to home due to the uncertainty of the weather so it was a short but wet idle back to the house.


With the cooler temperatures the fish are on the move, for trout look for them in areas where they are protected from the cold north winds. My favorite areas are holes with deeper water than the surrounding areas. This could be around oyster bars, potholes, canals and cuts between Islands and shorelines. Generally when the water is cold they will be most active during the warmest part of the day, so there is no need to be the first one on the water. And probably most important, whether you are using shrimp or artificial, get the bait to the bottom and work it very slow. The colder the water the slower their metabolism is going to be so you need to make it an easy meal for them to catch. My favorite rig to locate fish is a quarter ounce troll rite or jig head with a medium sized live shrimp hooked tail first after biting the end of its tail off with a slow retrieve.
The colder the better for big sheepsheads

If there is one positive to trout fishing when it’s cold they should be easy to locate. With the extreme low tides and limited areas of deep protected waters they should be stacked up when you find them. Sometimes that holds true and sometimes I don’t know where the heck they all go!

For charter information contact us at (239)283-7960

Get on the boat and “Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell
Have a safe week and good fishin’