Fishing is Hot in Southwest Florida

Finally we are getting our daily summer rains in southwest Florida. This is a relief as the rains have dropped both the air and water temperatures that were becoming uncomfortably hot for both fish and anglers...


Tarpon are still around and with a lot less pressure than over the previous months.

Summer is a great time for shark fishing the waters around Pine Island, inshore there are plenty of bulls, lemons and blacktips.

With the summer rains our redfish bite should become more consistent. Most of our fish are coming from Matlacha Pass under the mangroves on high water.

Trout and Spanish mackerel are still in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound. The best bet is to look for clear water over deeper grass flats on the incoming tide.

If you don’t mind a little heat the summer is a great time to fish in southwest Florida. The crowds are gone and the fishing can be pretty good.

Have a great July 4th holiday weekend and please stay safe on the water.

For more charter information, please contact us at:

Phone: 239-283-7960

Website: http://www.fishpineisland.com/

E-mail: gcl2fish@live.com

“Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell

Unusual Weather Pattern Finally Lifting in Southwest Florida

Finally, it appears a high pressure system that has hung over southwest Florida for the better part of the past week has finally lifted. The system brought northeast winds both day and night that really played havoc with our tarpon fishing off the beaches, in Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbor.

By Sunday morning you could feel a change for the better in the weather and sure enough within the first hour of fishing, a tarpon was boat side.

Snook fishing has been surprisingly good with the high mid-day new moon tides. Free-lining live shiners have yielded fish to thirty-five inches.
It sure is a lot easier to catch a snook than redfish, at least on my boat. In fact most of our snook are caught while targeting reds. The few we are catching are singles and doubles. The redfish bite should improve as the month progresses.

Fishing for sea trout was best at the beginning of the incoming tide in sand potholes behind the long bars that border Charlotte Harbor.

When the tarpon weren’t cooperating other critters often came to the rescue to bend a rod.

The unusual weather pattern for the past week has really made it tough for both fish and anglers to establish any type of a consistent pattern, especially targeting tarpon. Maybe we are at the beginning of a stretch of favorable weather conditions to get back on track. There are a lot of tarpon out there still waiting to be caught!

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