This weeks pressure from local fishing tournaments have made me fish places that we haven’t fish in a while to get away from the crowds. Between tournament anglers and Labor Day weekend warriors it was hard to find a quiet flat or mangrove stretch of island anywhere. We managed find some great fishing right where most were zooming by. With the southeast winds and long out going tides in Pine Island sound, we fished grass flats and hit broken bottom or potholes as we call them and had a wonderful trout and redfish bite with several fish over the slot size in 30 to 36 inch category for redfish and several trout 20 to 25 inches. Snook season opened this weekend but this Captain is going to stand his ground and practice catch and release on that particular species. Even though the snooks comeback has been seen in other areas in great numbers, SW Florida was one of the hardest hit and I still believe the snook needs more time. For now it will be catch and release leaving us with only a great photo and a chance to catch more in the future.
Tight Lines!
Capt. Bill Hammond
239-691-1966
