Snook

October 8, 2013 By Blake Matherly

Sanibel and Fort Myers Florida Charter Fishing Report

Now is the time for all fishermen who like to fish the back country waters of Sanibel, Captiva and Fort Myers area to hire a charter fishing guide and enjoy some nice fishing.

Even though the record rainfall has turned the water into a Starbucks coffee look, the fish can be found in waters that they are comfortable with and they are hungry. The Trout bite has increased but the Redfish bite is what I’m talking about.

I’ve seen more schools of Redfish this year than many years past. Some schools seem to like the incoming and some like the outgoing and we’ve even had good bites on slack tides in some areas. We’re using lures, DOA Air Head, DOA shrimp, top-water plugs, and spoons. Live bait always seems to work but sometimes the lures seem the best thing to use. We’ve been fishing these fish for about a month now and hope to fish them into November.

Give me a call, lets set up a day to go and give it a try!

Get out on the water, take a kid fishing and always remember that “it’s great being us”!
Capt Blake <*(((><

September 1, 2013 By Blake Matherly

Snook Season Opens September 1, 2013

It doesn’t matter if you’re on a charter fishing boat with a local guide or if you’re out on your own, when you hook into a Snook you know it. Snook fishing around the Sanibel Islands is my favorite thing to do.

So, here comes September 1, 2013 and the Snook season opens back up. Some are for it, some say the population hasn’t had enough time to rebound from the freeze of 2010. Reports from that freeze say we lost as much as a third of our population of the Snook species. If you were out on the water after the freeze you’d guess that at least a third was lost and probably more. It was a huge loss.

So now it’s up to us to help manage the fish that’s loved so much and does so much for our waters on the West Coast of Florida. I know it tastes good but I think we love to kill a Snook because we’re men. That’s what we do. We like showing who’s boss.

We’ve had three years of catch and release Snook fishing. We’ve all survived our manhood and we have pictures to prove it. Guess what, the pictures remain much longer than the fullness in our bellies so why not just keep doing what we’ve been doing and enjoy the fight, take the trophy pictures and help that wonderful species really make a rebound.

Being a charter fishing captain I’ve listened to a lot of people talk about the population and it’s all across the board. I speak from 200 plus days of fishing on the water. It’s much harder to find and catch Snook today than it was before the freeze. I’m a common sense major and believe studies and surveys are used to justify a decision and not always what is actually happening. All I can base my studies on is being on the water and seeing what we’re catching. That’s the reason I’ve come to the conclusion that we need to understand how much more fun it is to catch a Snook than it is to eat one.

Enjoy some of my trophy pictures that my clients have enjoyed even without the harvesting of this great warrior.

Get out on the water, take a kid fishing and always remember that “it’s great being us”!

Capt Blake
<*(((><

August 18, 2013 By Blake Matherly

Fishing Guides in Sanibel and Fort Myers Weekly Report

Fishing in Sanibel and Fort Myers with a charter guide for Snook, Redfish and Tarpon has been pretty good lately but other species are also a recipe for a great day on the water.

So is the case lately when Mick (Dad) and Katie (Daughter) decided to take a day off the beach and spend it on the water.

The day started out by being welcomed by some Dolphin leading us to the fishing grounds. After some hit and misses we ended up at a spot where we can usually catch a few but this day the bite was on.

Katie was reeling them in as fast as I could unhook them and Dad took the back seat watching her and forgetting that this is a competitive girl and she’s keeping record of the score. There were Mangrove Snapper, Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish, Speckled Sea Trout and her favorite the Topsail Catfish (it was the biggest and pulled the best). We ended up spending the whole charter fishing this one spot and had a great time.

Everyone that knows me and reads my blog understands my favorite day of fishing is when a parent takes their kid out for a day of fishing. It brings back memories of my dad taking time out to get me and my sister hooked on fishing.

Get out on the water, take a kid fishing and always remember that “it’s great being us”!

Capt Blake
<*(((><

Below is a part of an email sent by Katie after our great day on the water. Tight lines Katie and hope to see you next year!

“My dad and I had a lot of fun fishing with you last week!
I can’t believe all of the different kinds of fish we caught: mangrove snapper, jack crevalle, topsail catfish, ladyfish, & sea trout.
My favorite ones were the jacks and the catfish!
We look forward to fishing with you again in the future”.

July 17, 2013 By Blake Matherly

Sanibel and Fort Myers Florida Fishing Charter Report

Fishing the Sanibel and Fort Myers area is a great way to relax on your vacation. The waters of Pine Island Sound are teaming with different species waiting for your fishing line to hit the waters.

Lately the fishing has been like the roller coaster rides we remember as a kid. The weather has been anything but predictable. Non typical rain patterns and lots of wind but fishing this coast is in my opinion the best place to get out even on bad weather day. We have lots of Island to find the Lee side of, and lots of creeks to tuck into to be able to turn a “would be cancellation” into a day to remember.

So be the case with my old friend and author of “Drawing Dead” Ben Shelfer. Ben called to have a day out with his girls, Angel and Karen. We’ve fished before, but Ben heard about some hard fighting Jack Crevalle that I’ve been on, and wanted a piece of the action with his daughters. So let the fight begin.

We chummed them up and presto, magic we were in them. Jacks are pound for pound, one of the toughest and most aggressive fished I’ve ever seen. They hit bait, flys, topwater lures and sometimes the kitchen sink (if you can get it out there)! We had multiple triple hookups, and some funny episodes to remember for a lifetime.

Thanks Ben, Karen and Angel for a day to remember! Hope to see you soon.

Get out on the water, take a kid fishing and always remember that “it’s great being us”!
Capt Blake <*(((><

May 16, 2013 By Blake Matherly

Fishing Fort Myers and Sanibel Island

Fishing in Fort Myers and Sanibel is warming up because it’s the time to really enjoy the back country flats of Southwest Florida. The Fishing around Sanibel Island is as hot as a Jalapeño sandwich.

I love to Snook fish and it’s no better time than May. Still catch and release (quite frankly I’d love for it to be catch and release year round) but man are they fighting! It seems like they’re stronger than ever. Every fish I’ve missed the size judging by the fight.

The back country Trout fishing has slowed because of the warming waters and the Redfish has calmed a little.

The big draw now is the Tarpon. We’ve seen some decent numbers and many fish caught. As the waters keep warming the fishing should get better and better. Book a trip and experience the thrill of a lifetime.

Get out on the water, take a kid fishing and always remember that “it’s great being us”!

Capt Blake <*(((><