The Heat Is On In Southwest Florida

You can sure tell summer is here, it’s getting hot. The good thing with summer is plenty of fish and fewer anglers not a bad trade off for a little sweat.

Tarpon numbers are still good in Charlotte Harbor and Pine island Sound. Live bait fishing was best during morning hours with large Atlantic thread herrings then soaking cut bait on bottom was a better choice during the afternoon. Sharks continue as a steady by-catch as they frequently intercept tarpon baits. Inshore most were blacktips and off the beach we caught blacktip and hammerheads. Some days the difficult part of hooking a tarpon is keeping the sharks, mackerel, bluefish and others off the bait long enough for a tarpon to find it.

We also caught several cobia and one nice gag grouper on live baits intended for tarpon in Charlotte Harbor.

The Spanish mackerel and sea trout bite was steady over deep grass flats around Bokeelia. A combination of a deep grass flat with large schools of thread herring was a deadly combination for steady action. The fish were very active over the incoming tide but the bite dropped off dramatically over the falling tide during the heat of the day.

With the arrival of summer and the heat that comes with it the best and most enjoyable fishing is the mornings. We have also fished several late afternoons for shark and tarpon with success but the afternoon thunderstorms are becoming more frequent.

"Catch the Action" with Captain Bill Russell

As Good As It Gets In Southwest Florida

I don’t know if fishing could have been any better over the past week around Pine Island in southwest Florida. We found tarpon plentiful and more than willing to eat, sharks of all sizes plus all the big mackerel, bluefish and trout you wanted to catch.

We stayed close to home for tarpon and fished the northern end of Matlacha Pass and Charlotte Harbor and found plenty of fish and there was never more than one other boat in sight. What a different animal when they aren’t pressured or over run by boats, these fish were happy and hungry. We jumped or boated fish from seventy to one hundred fifty pounds all on large live thread herrings.

Sharks are everywhere and eating everything. They can be nuisance tarpon fishing, the smaller ones we generally land but they destroy the fluorocarbon leader and the big ones generally chew through the leader during the fight. However when we have been fishing the deeper flats for mackerel and trout we have been putting out a shark rig. I don’t think it ever took more than ten minutes before a big chunk of ladyfish suspended below a balloon was eaten by a shark of some size. Most are blacktips from three to five feet; our largest was a seven foot lemon. All great fighters.

After the tarpon bite slowed by late morning is when we were switching gears and targeting mackerel, trout, bluefish, sharks and whatever else would bite. Chumming with crippled shiners would get the bite started then it was non- stop action on free lined shiners or threads. I intended to spend a little time looking for snook or redfish on a couple days on the high water but the bite was just too good on everything else to break away.

It was one of those weeks were everything went according to plan, that seldom happens on a given day let alone for the better part of a week but luck was on our side. I hope the bite remains strong through the upcoming week, the tides aren’t as favorable after mid week but I am optimistic that there will be plenty of fish willing to chew.


For Charter information Please contact us at:

Phone: 239-283-7960

Website: www.fishpineisland.com

E-mail: gcl2fish@live.com

“Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell

It's All About Tarpon Fishing in Southwest Florida

Another week of beautiful weather and pretty darn good fishing around Pine Island in Southwest Florida. Tarpon continue to get the spotlight with good numbers of fish showing off the beaches, in the Passes, Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbor.

The early morning bite has been the most consistent then the bite has been off and on throughout the day. The Tarpon are on the move from day to day so it is often necessary to hunt for active fish, once found and patiently working the school we have been hooking up with large Atlantic thread herring free lined on a 6/0 Owner circle hook attached to eighty pound fluorocarbon leader. I have also talked to anglers doing well with a half of ladyfish or mullet fished on bottom.

Sharks continue to be a nuisance when tarpon fishing, not the big ones trying to eat our tarpon but those six feet and under that keep intercepting our tarpon baits. I’m not complaining though, sharks are always fun to catch and they keep your adrenaline up while waiting for that next tarpon bite.

We are back on strong tides this week so it should be a great week of fishing. I have to think tarpon are about to peak anytime, the Royal Poinciana trees are in full bloom, an old timer’s way of knowing when it’s time to fish for big snook in the Passes during the summer and we have some great redfish tides. If you ever wanted to score a southwest Florida Grand Slam (Tarpon, Snook, Redfish & Trout) this could be the best week of the year.

For charter information please contact us at:

Phone: 239-283-7960

Website: www.fishpineisland.com

E-mail: gcl2fish@live.com

“Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell