Southwest Florida

April 12, 2013 By Blake Matherly

Sanibel Fort Myers Fishing Charter Report

“TGIF”! When you love to fish the back country or fishing the flats around Sanibel Island or Ft. Myers Florida that acronym takes on a lot of different versions. Thank God I’m Fishing, Thank God I’m in Florida, or in the life of Snook fishing, Thank God It’s Feeding”!

Today the Snook bite finally turned on! We’ve had a lot of very unusual weather and the Snook population has had a terrible case of the shivers (water temp has been below 70 degrees) but today marked the first great day of Snook fishing for Team FlatsFish’r.

Long time customer, Dan McConlogue brought his good buddy Dan Buckley, both from the Forest Country Club for a great day of fishing/catching. The day started with making sure that “Mama Rose” packed a generous supply of her famous sandwiches for the guys. With the cooler securely stored we set out for our journey.

Our first stop proved to be a great one with both Dan’s hooking and landing multiple Snook. It was great seeing the Snook enjoying the “snicker bars” tossed out and having multiple busts on the baits soon after landing in the water.

Next we headed up to big Jack country. With some hunting and chumming, we finally got Mr. Jack going. After a while Mr. Jack got both guys to cry uncle and waive the white surrender flags.

What a great day with a couple of great guys and feeding the Captain with some famous Mama Rose’s sandwiches will always get you to the best and most secret spots!

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

Capt Blake <*(((><

April 7, 2013 By Blake Matherly

Sanibel Fort Myers Florida Fishing Charter Report

Back Country Flats Fishing in the Fort Myers Sanibel area has a lot to offer. You have lots of decisions to make. Where to go, how

to fish, what species is your target. This week my client Rich Thompson from Minnesota told me he was bringing his son Ryan, and wanted Ryan to have a great day catching fish with his Dad.

So that was the the goal for the day. We started seeing if the Snook were ready to end their winter fast. Okay, maybe you’re still on your diet. We fished a couple of other spots and caught some Snapper and Sheepshead. Then we found some Jack Crevalle. They were tearing the water up going for a free meal of their favorite food, live threadfin herring.

Throughout the bite, Ryan and Dad, had multiple double hookups and laughter broke out many times doing the “two step” trying to keep lines from tangling and not being the one that lost his fish. Ryan developed the “Ryan Technique” for catching fish by leaving the bait by the boat and watching the Jacks attack the bait boatside.

I had a great time with a great kid and his dad and look forward to next years spring break to have Ryan and his “Technique” back on board the “Egret” charter boat.

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

Capt Blake <*(((><

March 17, 2013 By Blake Matherly

Sanibel Fort Myers Florida Fishing Guide Report

Flats Fishing in the back country this week around Sanibel, Captiva and Boca Grande was not bad considering the 30+ mph gusts and temperatures diving down in the 40’s. Those that were brave enough to go out did catch some fish.

Snook are still locked in their bedrooms under the electric blanket but the red fish and trout did peak their heads out for some exercise. We’re starting to find some nice Speckled Sea Trout. Many fish over the 20″ mark found their way to our DOA lure presentation.

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

Capt Blake <*(((><

February 18, 2013 By Blake Matherly

Fort Myers and Sanibel Island Florida Back Country Charter Fishing Report

I love the back country fishing in Florida. It’s especially great on the Southwest Coast around the Fort Myers and Sanibel area. We have so many different ways to fish, and a lot of different species to catch. Recreational fishermen usually only work on 1 or 2 types of fishing but being a Charter Captain I’m able to fish a lot more which means I get to fish pretty much every situation and that’s pretty cool.

One of my favorite days on the water is when I have the ladies hire me for the day. Ellen Christian is a regular customer of mine. She loves to fish as much or more than any man I’ve taken out. This day she was taking out her Granddaughter from Ashland Kentucky, Alison. Alison graduated from Virginia Tech (go Hokie’s) and was getting prepared for a new job, so fishing was what the Grandmother ordered.

The water temps were down, winds were up but the sun was shining. We started out with some small Mangrove Snapper, then Sheepshead and followed by some nice Black Drum. Alison was picking them off one after another. The fishing was so good we just about spent our total time in this one spot but finally put the rods down to try another spot before going in.

The next spot produced a few but different fish. We were able to get some Spotted Sea Trout and Flounder. It was another great day on the water with Ellen and was especially great getting to know her Granddaughter Alison. Enjoy your new job and come back for a vacation soon!

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

Capt Blake <*(((><

February 14, 2013 By Blake Matherly

Sanibel and Fort Myers Florida Fishing Report

Well, we decided to go out and test the fishing around the islands of Sanibel and Fort Myers today for some saltwater back country Snook and Redfish.

Even though the winds were up, front coming through the area, we braved the 2-4 white caps to get to the back country fishing grounds and found some creeks that produced what we came for. Gary Barnett was my point man today on the bow and I was manning the push pole on the platform. Gary, his wife and son, is currently living in the Guangdong Province of China, but is looking to move back to the States (I think we got him hooked today in the back country to move to Southwest Florida).

The first fish was a very nice Spotted Sea Trout (released with no picture). Then the Redfish fell prey to the artificial lure. Next came the Jack Crevalle. Multiple fish were added to the count before we both became victims to the urge and need for food. The Green Flash won the vote and a nice lunch ended the day. A short bumpy ride back to the ramp had us both being glad we decided to make the trip today.

Thanks Gary for the great day fishing and the company!

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

Capt Blake <*(((><