Fish Getting Bigger in Southwest Florida

Were getting there, slowly, but we are getting into spring like fishing. We had a few cool mornings and several windy days however overall fishing is getting better and larger fish are moving in.

Most of the week we were on slow two a day tides, this generally results in a slower than average bite. Although the bite was a little slow the quality of the catch was much improved.                                  

We did not catch the numbers of trout we expect for this time of year but the size was impressive. We actually had one day in north Matlacha Pass where we only caught five trout but they were all huge. The smallest measured twenty-two inches and the largest twenty-five inches, all were caught on live shiners in sand holes on the incoming tide, four came from one hole. On Saturday we were a kids boat for the Bobby Holloway Memorial Fishing Tournament (a great event with proceeds to help our island children) we finished up the day in a sand hole near the fish shacks in the Sound and caught a dozen or so fat trout that were all from eighteen to twenty-one inches, these were caught on the falling tide. There was also plenty of big trout over three pounds weighed in for the tournament. Look for trout fishing to get better each day with the warming waters.

Spanish mackerel continue to run through the Harbor and Sound and bluefish are beginning to get in the mix. There is an abundance of glass minnows they are feeding on, but live shrimp under bobbers, silver spoons, small shiny lures and live pilchards if you can get them are all working well. The mackerel we caught this week off of Bokeelia were a good bit larger than those caught last week. Look for a grassy bottom with sand patches in five to eight feet of water and watch for birds. We also caught our first snook of the year, not a lot, only three but they were sure fun and appreciated. The largest was twenty-nine inches and the smallest twenty-four. They quickly jumped on live shiners near oyster bars in Matlacha Pass. Remember snook season will remain closed until further notice, have fun catching them but release them quickly and safely to insure they return to the water healthy.

Sharks are showing up in good numbers, on one of the few sunny days with light wind I was really surprised how many I spotted cruising the channels between flats from Demere Key north to Bokeelia. They averaged from four to six feet and most were in scattered groups, if you spotted one you would generally sight another four to six within a hundred yards. We haven’t fished for any yet but it is getting about time. Also heard a few reports of small pods of tarpon showing up in the Sound, more good news.

I can see a definite pattern with larger fish arriving each day. This will continue throughout the spring with each warming day. It’s about time to put the heavier rigs back on the boat!


Please contact us at:

Phone: (239)-283-7960

Website: www.fishpineisland.com

E-mail: gcl2fish@live.com

“Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell

Spring, Mackerel & Bait have arrived in Southwest Florida

Three good things happened this week, first we said good bye to one long winter and welcomed the arrival of spring (even though it’s still kinda cool). Second, Spanish mackerel showed up all around the southern side of Charlotte Harbor and third, the one that excites me the most, baitfish arrived. I have been hitting the water every other morning at daylight hoping for bait and Sunday morning it happened after a half dozen throws my live well was full of perfect shiners and several dozen pinfish, a beautiful sight.

The arrival of mackerel is a good sign that our waters are warming and the spring migration up the coast is on. Early in the week we caught them on shrimp under a popping cork and white shad tails on a quarter ounce head and on Sunday we fished live shiners and silver spoons and found steady mackerel action. Pretty much every place we fished for trout in open water we found mackerel. Most were averaging eighteen to twenty inches.

On the days the wind was blowing less than thirty knots trout fishing was decent. We never caught any large ones, the biggest of the week was slightly over twenty inches, but it was fairly easy to catch a limit of fish averaging fifteen to eighteen inches. Our best action came in the northern Sound over grass flats averaging five to seven feet and potholes, the best bite was on the incoming tide.

Sunday with a live well full of bait anticipation was high, but shortly after we hit the water so was the wind. We caught a few nice trout and about a dozen mackerel off of Bokeelia before it just got to rough to fish in open water. We headed back to Matlacha Pass to fish protected areas, we started south of the bridge and found absolutely nothing but muddy water and suspended grass from the wind howling right up the gut of the Pass.

We moved north of the bridge and set up on a shoreline and it wasn’t long before we had our first bite in a while. It took a small pinfish under a cork and after a great fight a hefty twenty-nine inch redfish was brought to the boat. With thunder in the distance we released the fish and rebaited knowing our time was running out. It wasn’t long before the same angler was hooked up again, another strong fight and a larger redfish that measured thirty-two inches was landed and released after a picture. The lightning and thunder was getting closer as the sky was darkening, we decided to head for home. A great decision as not five minutes after we hit the dock the skies let loose. I think after this winter I have become immune to fishing in the wind and even some rain, but the lightning is a whole different story.

Another cool front has arrived but hopefully it is short lived. It really doesn’t feel like spring today but with the arrival of mackerel and bait fish I am actually looking forward to fishing each day.

Contact us at

Phone: 239-283-7960

E-mail: gcl2fish@live.com

Website: www.fishpineisland.com

“Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell

READY FOR SOME SPRING TIME FISHING

We had a good thing going this week then came the wind and rain and boy did it rain. Fishing was getting better each day as we hit our first eighty degree day in a long time. We never left Matlacha Pass the entire week for a couple of reasons, early in the week there was no need to, the fishing was good in the Pass and later in the week strong winds kept us close to home.

Each morning we looked for trout in the deeper cuts between Islands on the morning low water. The bite wasn’t red hot but was steady enough to achieve limits of quality fish. The fish we caught had a good average size from sixteen to eighteen inches and we had a few at twenty-two inches. We were fishing live shrimp either under a popping cork or free lined and white shad tail soft plastics on a quarter ounce head. Our best bite was over the incoming tide. The water was still a little cool for them to move out over the grass flats, but they should begin their move this week.

We caught redfish on the upper stages of the tide working oyster bars in the Pass. Live shrimp worked against the windward side of the bars worked for redfish up to twenty-one inches. We caught a good number of fish from seventeen to twenty inches and sighted more large redfish than I have seen in months along shorelines in the Pass. The bigger fish don’t seem to have the same appetite just yet as the little guys, but that will change very soon. We also lucked into one nice pompano while catching reds in the northern Pass.

As the water continues to warm I have sighted a lot more snook than I expected to in Matlacha Pass. They are moving out along shorelines in both the upper and lower Pass, it was really encouraging to see this many fish after the winter they suffered and there was a lot of big fish. They should start feeding really soon.

We are almost there, the water temp is slowly rising and fish are beginning to respond. Bait fish should begin to arrive very soon and fishing should really improve just in time for the arrival of spring.

COULD THIS BE THE WEEK

For far too long now this report has sounded like a broken record every week were we spend more time talking about how cold the weather has been rather than how good the fishing is. Last week I changed focus and looked ahead to upcoming days of warmer spring fishing. I fully thought that by the time this week rolled around we would have some good fish stories to tell. Well, Mother Nature thought otherwise and again we suffered through a week with record cold temperatures. And if that wasn’t enough, combine the cold with the relentless north wind and it was a pretty miserable week to be on the water. Matter of fact, the trips we had on the books we cancelled and fishing reports were extremely hard to come by.

Going into the weekend things were looking up as the weather was gradually warming each day and winds were slowly subsiding. I really believe with a few days of good weather fishing will improve very quickly as well as our attitudes. An angler can only be constricted to land or fish in unfavorable conditions for so long before they become very irritable and difficult to be around. Maybe anglers fishing in the northern states have learned to cope with it, but here in sunny, warm southwest Florida it’s not something we are or want to be accustomed to.



This week may provide the big change we are all eagerly awaiting, a warming trend is forecasted and the official start to spring is just over a week away. I have a feeling when the season does change it will do so quickly and the fish will respond accordingly. While we cannot predict exactly when this will happen we can prepare and be ready to take advantage of it.

Watch those water temperatures and remember seventy degrees is the magic number give or take a degree or two when you need to hit the water for our first good dose of spring fishing. With the water temperatures running colder than normal for so long the fish have adapted so you might expect the fishing to go off even sooner, well before it hits seventy degrees.



Sooner or later the winter cold will have to give away to the warmer days of spring, but the question remains, Will this be the Week?



 “Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell

FISH ARE READY TO BUST LOOSE

Every year anglers eagerly anticipate the arrival of spring and the good fishing that comes with it. The way winter has dragged on with record colds the warmer days of spring can’t get here soon enough. Although the season doesn’t officially change for a few more weeks we should expect a big boost in fishing very soon.

With winter running late you get the feeling the fish are ready to bust loose, one week of warm weather and fishing could get red hot. All it could take is for the water temperature to rise a few marks and get over the seventy degree mark. Most years by mid February baitfish including pilchards, herring and pinfish have moved back into our inshore waters, but as of this time they are absent for the most part and if you did have a few in the well there aren’t too many gamefish that would exert the energy to chase them down.

It all has to do with the water temperature, when it hits that magic mark fishing could get crazy fast. The small bait fish will invade our waters and gamefish will be right behind them. Our fish have suffered a long cold season also and they won’t waste any time filling their bellies. We have experienced a glimpse of what’s to come after a short stretch of warm days then another fronts sets us back. There are plenty of really big trout around and every time it warms up a little they turn on as do redfish.

March is a month where you can catch the largest trout of the year as they are in pre spawn mode; fish from five to seven pounds are becoming more common each spring. Soon they will be keying in on oily baitfish like pilchards or herrings, look for them lurking around oyster bars, potholes and on the transitions of sand bars to ambush their meal. While live bait is hard to beat, most artificials that imitate the silver sided minnows also work good, ladyfish steaks soaked on bottom for redfish also end up catching some really big trout. By far the most exciting way to hook up with a big “Gator” trout is casting top water lures over the grass flats. They have an unforgettable “pop” when they blast the lure, for some anglers that’s the only way to fish for them.

You can also expect to catch plenty of schooling size trout all around Pine Island on grass flats averaging three to eight feet in depth. Bluefish, mackerel, and ladyfish will also invade these areas as well as an unexpected shark or cobia. When we get to the point where the baitfish move in it’s a good idea to keep a heavy rig ready to go as tarpon, sharks and big cobia could get into the action at any time.

Off the beaches mackerel both king and Spanish will begin their northerly migration up our coast, once again following the bait schools. Just like inshore, tarpon, sharks and cobia could show up at any time. There should be plenty of cobia hanging over offshore wrecks as well as amberjacks and barracuda on those farther offshore. March is traditionally a windy month making it hard for anglers to schedule offshore trips with consistency.

Back inshore the redfish action should get a big boost in the coming weeks. We will begin to get on higher daytime tides, couple that with warmer waters and an increase in the food supply and the redfish catches will increase in both numbers and size. Look for redfish in the same spots as mentioned earlier for the large trout and also foraging under the mangroves on the high water.


I love fishing this time of year and I will even more when the cold days are gone. I can’t wait to hit the water at dark and watch the sunrise while cast netting a well full of frisky shiners with the anticipation of what we might catch on a WARM spring day. I am so ready for spring fishing, Bring it On!