The Saturday charter with first time customers Rusty and JD started well. Everybody was right on time for our 10am departure from Punta Rassa, for our 6 hour trip. Then, within a few minutes I was able to net plenty of bait at the causeway without much searching in just 3 throws of the net. There didn’t seem to be any evidence of red tide like the week before as we started drifting some grass flats on the slowly incoming tide. Before long we were able to zero in on some trout hitting the sc...

Friend Jason and I were lucky enough to be able to take our boys out fishing for a day, on a weekday when the boys were out of school on a holiday.

After getting the boat splashed and everybody picked up and situated we spent the first part of our adventure searching for bait. We had plenty of live shrimp, but still wanted to see if we could find some pilchards.

The red tide was bad in some areas, and when we finally netted bait at the tripod, most of it died pretty quick. With that we went...

Fishing with me last Monday was Tim and Sue from Valparaiso, IN. Bait for the day was live shrimp, and large threadfin herrings caught that morning, before the trip, at the Big Carlos Causeway.

We had a great day with lots of small fish caught, and a nice break at The Fish House restaurant for lunch.

The giant threadfins we were using for bait got a good bit of attention, but the unknown fish chasing them just couldn’t quite seem to get them down. There was one nice size snook, that we sa...

I had returning customers and friends on the boat Friday. We met on the already warm morning about 8am at the boat ramp at Lover’s Key, which is just south of Fort Myers Beach. The boat was already loaded with bait for the full day trip, plenty of frozen threadfins and shrimp from previous trips, very decent sized live shrimp for this time of year, and both livewells brimming with fresh caught small to medium sized threadfin herrings. Once everyone and everything was loaded and secured ...

We had another great day on the water Tuesday out of Punta Rassa, in Fort Myers. For the first time on my boat were Dale and Linda from Wisconsin. The trip was a bit of a treat for Linda to celebrate her approaching birthday. We began the day right on time, headed towards the Sanibel lighthouse and quickly ran across a few dolphins on the move. As soon as we got under the causeway, a just big enough chop on the water to make the ride uncomfortable, slapped the bow of the boat. With my plan fo...

With the holiday weekend approaching and the whole family having a day off together, we made grand plans for my better half’s first fishing trip in over a month. The plan was to head down to Chockoloskee, and fish some near shore wrecks, as well as look for tarpon in Everglades National Park. Well, that plan went down the drain as my better half heard forecasts of 40mph winds associated with a cold front pushing through South Florida into Friday morning. With that, our hopes were that the b...

I received a call from a returning customer on Sunday, and luckily enough for both of us, we were able to schedule an early half day trip the next morning. I met Gus and his son at the ramp at Lover’s Key just as the sun was breaking the horizon. Glass calm conditions greeted us as we got up on plane and headed out of Big Carlos Pass to look for bait. A pod of dolphins sidetracked us for a few minutes with some good antics before we made the rest of the run to the beach. A small swell was c...

Our Saturday fishing trip started late in the day after a full morning. Good buddy Scott Riddle was able to join my boy, nephew, and myself for a quick trip to Estero Bay in Fort Myers Florida, for Scott’s first chance to get on the water in some time. The afternoon breeze was blowing fairly hard as we headed out without any shrimp, and plenty of anxious anglers. So we decided to look around New Pass for some bait, and it was quickly obvious that we weren’t going to be able to look for an...

I had a great family charter on Monday. We departed the ramp at Punta Rassa, at the base of the Sanibel bridge, in Ft.Myers with several dozen shrimp, Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, brother, and sister, all from typically cold locals this time of year up north.
 
A beautiful calm day greeted us as we headed towards the tip of Sanibel. As hoped, we quickly found a pod of playful dolphins that put on a nice show for us, jumping and playing in the wake of the boat, before we moved on. We fished shrimp on ...

I have been dying to get on the water for the last week or so, but the high winds we’ve been having, have kept me landlocked. The incremental decrease in the forecasted winds for today, was enough for me to call my old high school bud Andy for another venture to Estero Bay. We met at the house just before 7am and were off to the boat ramp at Weeks fish camp.  The tide was surprisingly low when we arrived, to the point that I was concerned about being able to launch the boat. We got her floa...

Had the chance to fish today, with 2 old friends from my high school days, out of Estero Bay in Fort Myers Florida. The 3 of us left Weeks fish camp about 9 am or so with several dozen shrimp and high expectations. Unfortunately the calm conditions I had hoped for were blown away by the stiff breeze that greeted us as we idled our way out of the channel. The tide was still fairly low and the water was milky from the stiff breeze but I still wanted to look for some live bait to add to the shri...