Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbour FL

phishtix · March 3, 2021

Wife and I just returned from a trip to FL. Got a much needed rest. It was my b-day on Feb 25. Turned 57. Her uncle took us out on a boat trip in and around the sound area. He doesn't really fish much so we just did our best to figure it out. Had to use some borrowed equipment.

The boat trip was fun just seeing the sites. Managed to catch a few fish. Mangrove snapper, and sheapheads. They aren't like our sheep head in MI. Much prettier and good to eat. The locals told me they are highly sought after. Fun to catch.

My wife got too much sun on the boat and that shut her down for fishing. Uncle got sick, we drank a lot of alcohol. I think he over did it. But it left me sitting in the house jonesing to go fishing. I studied up how to catch em by watching videos on the net. Talked my wife to taking me up to a tackle store were I stocked up on the "hot" lures. Then she took me up and dropped me off on a fishing pier up at Charlotte Harbor. I fished for like 7 hours. Got a bunch of Lady fish, some Jack Cravelles, a Bonnet Head shark, and from what they tell me a really nice spotted sea trout. The trout was pretty cool. Looks very similar to our Browns. Also made friends with a Dolphin. He would watch me catch fish and release them and then he would swim over and eat them. I tried releasing them on the other side so he wouldn't see but evidently they have good eyes. And they are really fast swimmers. At one point he sat on the edge of the pier staring at me waiting for me to release a fish. I could have touched his nose. Kinda cool.

Had a great time. Hoping to make it down there again someday. Getting old and it sure felt nice to fish and be comfortably warm instead of freezing and hurting.