We had a great week with weather on our side. Until Saturday, that is.
This week, I had the pleasure of fishing with fellow captain and friend, Perry Prue. We fished a beautiful day, with incoming tides, targeting Snook, Redfish, Trout, and Black Drum. The Snook and Redfish outsmarted us, but the Trout and Black Drum had no chance against two skilled captains. Here are a few pictures from our trip out of Port of the Islands Resort.
Ending the week with a Saturday trip, brought a big surprise.
Weather was not optimal, with light rain and overcast skies, making it difficult for sight-fishing. We headed out targeting Trout and Flounder, but with difficult conditions, it was a tough fish. At the same time, we were targeting Tarpon and Sharks. While fishing points, we had plenty of opportunities with our large baits being hit by numerous toothy critters.
We finally got the hook to stick into one. Boy were we surprised with what we hooked. After a 40 minute battle, we couldn’t believe what came up from the murky water. Our catch had positioned himself under the boat. At that time, I was thinking we had a large Stingray. I began to carefully hand line the fish to the surface, instructing my client to hold firm on the rod, in case the fish decided to take another run. As he came closer to the surface, a 4 foot bill appeared from the surface, taking a swipe at me.
The pictures featured below don’t credit the massive size of this fish. I’m estimating it was 10 to 12 ft. long, with what I am certain was a 4 ft. tooth lined bill.
This rare Sawfish was released immediately, once we knew what it was. He swam away, gratefully, after scaring the crap out of this captain! My clients have a memory of a lifetime; catching a prehistoric sea monster. You never know what you will catch down here.
After this battle, my clients were hyped up and ready for more. We repositioned the vessel and baits, and managed to catch a perfect for eating, 3 ft. Blacktip Shark. The day concluded with jumping one estimated 100 lb. Tarpon. The battle ended quickly, with two quick jumps, outmatching my client and snapping his line.
Looking forward to next week. The weather forecast looks great, with optimal tides.
Backwater Fishing in Naples & the Ten Thousand Islands 