Fishing Report for Week Ending 4/25/98
by
Capt. Butch Rickey
I don't seem to be able to get back on top of these fishing reports on a weekly basis, but I'm trying.
Sunday was the second day of the Florida Sportsman Fishing Show at the Lee Civic Center. I spent the day there with David Arcemant of GCAA, and had a good time. I met a lot of people, and picked up some neat goodies to try out.
Monday and Tuesday were scheduled days off, and boy, I was ready for them.
I spent Wednesday with my old buddy Cooke Bausman. He's an IGFA representative from Wisconsin, and a great guy to spend the day with. Last year we tore up the redfish on shiners. We decided to fish artificial lures this time around, and do it in Sarasota Bay. It was a tough day with a nasty 25 knot wind blowing out of the northwest.
This was the inaugural voyage of "the BarHopp'R II", which was still an unknown quantity for me. Cooke, with his usual flair, brought a bottle of champagne to christen the boat with, but we didn't have the heart to break it across her bow.
We fished an area that I thought would best allow me to use the wind to my advantage, and it was OK until the trolling motor quit working. Seems the batteries, which were fully charged, had gone bad from sitting for so long without any use. They didn't last long what with my constant adjustments in the wind.
Cooke and I had fun, though. We did manage to catch two or three snook, a nice trout, and a jack on jigs. Never got a redfish to eat our spoons. We also lost several snook. Cooke, a true sport fisherman, wasn't worried about the numbers, and we just enjoyed the fellowship that is so special on the water. Cooke is going to try to get back down for some extreme snook and tarpon fishing later this summer when we slow down a bit.
My long-time friend Bev Kaczmarek, of Port Charlotte, brought her two lovely daughters Zeta and Jackie down for a day of fishing on Thursday. She'd been waiting to get both of them here together for a long time, and they all love to fish.
I told Bev it would be a tough day of fishing. The wind was still northwest at 20 or better, and bait was tough. I managed to get some shiners out off the lighthouse in the tideline, but not really enough for a day of fishing. Back at the ramp, my friend Capt. Kevin Holley gave me several scoops of shiners that he'd netted somewhere up in the north end of the Sound. We were ready! Bev said she'd be happy if she could catch just one good redfish.
We fished hard, and my three girls were good fishermen (No, I'm not PC!) We managed to bag 2 nice trout, 2 nice snook, a jack crevalle, and of course, that redfish Bev wanted. Although we didn't catch the big numbers that Bev has gotten used to, we had a great day, and the girls took home plenty of fish to eat.
Friday belonged to Earl Cox, of Cape Coral, and his son Derek, and son-in-law Bret. Earl had bought my video and watched it over and over before he moved down from Virginia. He'd even made the boys watch it before the trip. Earl was wanting to learn more about fishing in the Sound, so I tried to mix showing him around with fishing.
We got bait off the Sanibel lighthouse in the tide line, again. The shiners were holding just inside the gulf side of the line mostly in the pockets. All you have to do is find the birds diving, and they'll usually show you where the bait is. It took a lot of throwing, and it was hard work because of all the flotsam in the water. Every time I'd throw I'd drag in tons of seaweed along with the bait. Makes for a heavy net, and a nasty boat. But, we got plenty of bait.
The action wasn't fast and furious, but the boys did tangle with 8 or 9 snook, a 14 inch flounder and a jack. The best snook was 31 inches at ten and a half pounds, and a couple got away. We put the big snook back. Earl was going to be back Sunday for another round, anyway.
I wound the week up with Bruce Aucoin, over from Miramar, Florida, for his second trip. I took Bruce and Alex Arias of the Marlins out last fall and had a great day. Bruce gave me a nice compliment when he booked the second trip, saying that I was the first guide he'd ever booked twice. Man, that puts the pressure on!
This trip Bruce brought his son Mark, and son-in-law Tim. I put the boys on fish from the start, and throughout the course of the day they tangled with 26 snook and 1 big 4.5 pound trout. Bruce, who had caught all but one fish he hooked on his first trip, just couldn't seem to keep a snook hooked this time around. He had a total of 9 on, and only landed one. Mark had a similar day, hooking 7 and landing one, and Tim was the champ with 10 hooked and 6 boated. We had a lot of fun, and of course, there was a lot of verbal sparing going on every time one of them would lose a fish.
I hope that I will be the first guide Bruce ever books three trips with!
Well that's it for the week of April 25th. If you get the sense that things are starting to pop, you're right.
If you have questions or comments, or would like to book a trip, please email me at capt@barhoppr.com.
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