Southwest Florida

January 18, 2016 By Blake Matherly

Bamboo Fly Rods, Sanibel Island Fishing

When fishermen get fishing opportunities, they usually take them. Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, doesn’t matter, they usually take the back seat to a fisherman’s wants or dreams.

Such is the case on Sunday, December 20, 2015, on Sanibel at Norm Zieglars Fly Shop.

That day presented itself with an opportunity to cast a bit of history. Ernie “Woody” Wood, son-in-law of the late John Voelker a.k.a. Robert Travers (author of “Trout Magic,” “Trout Madness” and “Anatomy of a Fisherman”, Anatomy of A Murder”), broke out some of his vast collection of bamboo fly rods for us to cast. Many of the rods belonged to Voelker himself, all crafted from legendary rod makers.

A small but dedicated group of casting geeks got together to cast the rods and learn of their history from Woody. We even got some casting lessons from Joe Mahler, the person responsible for making this afternoon possible.

Thanks Joe and a special thanks to Woody for sharing some interesting history!

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

Capt Blake
<*(((><

February 15, 2015 By Blake Matherly

Sanibel and Fort Myers Florida Fishing Report

Sanibel and Fort Myers Florida Fishing report for last week in February is mixed with Snook, Redfish, Trout and Pompano. Even though we had a couple of cold fronts attack us from the north, we still managed to get some numbers in different species in the back country around the islands of Sanibel and Captiva in Pine Island Sound.

Clousers, EP Everglades Special, and Joe Mahler’s Strawboss were the best flies to target these fish while flyfishing. We use TFO Mangrove series 8 wt rods with Wulff Bermuda Shorts floating line to make the presentation right on target.

Dr. Collins from Winston Salem NC enjoyed some days on the flats catching Snapper, Snook and just missing some tailing Redfish on the grass flats. The weather was a bit windy but we still made the best out of the days we were out.

Lures included DOA Shrimp, and Berkley Gulp Jerk Shad worked best for getting the bait where the fish were holed up (mostly under the mangroves). Both the shrimp and the Shad are perfect for skipping the bait under the hanging limbs to set up the ambush.

For bait fishermen, live shrimp are the best bet for the cooler water temps. I like rigging the shrimp weedless so you can use on the open grass flats, around oyster bed or even under the mangroves.

Mike Gigliotti from New York and his father in law, Dan McConlogue from Fort Myers had a great day fishing mangroves, oyster beds and the grass flats using lures and live shrimp. Redfish, Snook, Snapper and Pompano were fooled by the masters.

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

February 18, 2014 By Blake Matherly

Fishing Guide Report in Sanibel and Fort Myers Florida

Charter fishing in the Sanibel and Fort Myers Florida area has picked up even with some days of low temperature. Knowing where and when to go is the key to success. Watching the water temp and the tides is equally important to figure out what species you want to target. Redfish and Spotted Sea Trout are our target fish during this time of year.

Some days during the winter the days even seem to be summer like in the temperature and in the way the fishing is. Those days are appreciated in the comfort and the amount and kind of fish reeled to the boat.

Sometimes the fishing is so good you may even need a little help from a friend. During one trip out with a great friend we had a little mishap in casting. As soon as the bait hit the water (on the other side of the tree) a Grouper hit the bait and the tug of war between the fish/tree/and boat was on. Seeing men in distress, a bold and brave maiden came to our rescue to rescue the line from the tree so the landing of the fish was possible. Our thanks to the maiden on the paddle board for helping the helpless men in distress and for making our day!

It was another great day on the water, many fish, great friends and a merry maiden (maybe Mermaiden)!

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
<*(((><

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 <*(((><