Fishing Charlotte Harbor Area (Port Charlotte: trends, home, live)

[double6's]

Happy Easter M A!..good to hear from ya..

[josephp732]

I was down for Easter and was out last Saturday evening and picked up a nice couple of reds fishing the out going tide in the mangroves a long Muddy bay. I am back down in three weeks and booked a shark trip with Captain Ryan leaving out of Burnt Store - can't wait!

[storm lady]

We put in some time fishing the northern harbor and the mouth of the Peace River. Tried trolling the 41 Bridge, saw thousands of Cow Nosed Rays, bigger black Rays and a few huge sea turtles. There was an abundance of Threadfin which I netted and used as bait. Game Fish... not so much. 76 degree water, hopefully things will start to happen soon.

[garyk9gs]

I hope it picks up soon too. Going down in a little over a week and doing some off shore past the Boca Pass and some in-shore near Gasparilla

[MikMal]

I'm hoping to get out next week. In the mean time, my neighbor has been going out daily around Hog Island. Outside of catfish, he hasn't done much. I figure I'll probably head down towards Turtle Bay and try for trout and while I'm in the area troll for some Spanish Macs.

[storm lady]

Originally Posted by MikMal

I'm hoping to get out next week. In the mean time, my neighbor has been going out daily around Hog Island. Outside of catfish, he hasn't done much. I figure I'll probably head down towards Turtle Bay and try for trout and while I'm in the area troll for some Spanish Macs.

I live and fish in the Hog Island, Alligator Bay area, your friend is not alone. Water temperatures have climbed from the high 50's to the high 70's in the past couple of weeks. We have had a major full moon with accompanying spring tides. I'm seeing more life, bait, Mullet etc. so hopefully spring fishing is coming soon.

[Nomadicus]

Snook fishing around the old trestle at El Jo Bean should, if memory serves me, be warming up soon. The old pier was a great place to catch them until destroyed by fire. Many nights after work were spent on the west side pier enjoying the peace and quiet whether the fish were in the mood to feed or not.

[CTC]

good fishing last week in Lemon Bay in the Stump pass area past 17a marker and the flat across where I keep my boat. I must have caught 20 trout-some were pretty good sized 20 plus inches. Caught my first ever Pompano, measured 20 inches tip to fork-those things fight great on light tackle. I use barbless hooks, and due to the fact were in the midst of remodeling and our kitchen is torn up, I ended up releasing everything.

caught a few other odds and ends (ie Lady Fish, small sheepshead)

Using chartruese *** heads 1/16 oz with live shrimp threaded on-fished slow and deep. Gulp baits worked good to when I ran out of shrimp.

Drifting the flats or anchoring near the intercoastal worked on a rising tide

water is pretty clear right now too

[garyk9gs]

Originally Posted by garyk9gs

I hope it picks up soon too. Going down in a little over a week and doing some off shore past the Boca Pass and some in-shore near Gasparilla

I thought I'd better post how I did.

First trip was on Wednesday, April 25th. We went off shore out of Fisherman's Village. Ended up NW of Boca Pass about 20 miles out. Filled the big cooler with several types of snapper, one keeper red grouper, several misc species (grunts, blue runners, triggerfish, etc.), and one big King. The weather was awesome and had a great time.

The second trip was on Friday, April 27th, and we went out of Eldred's Marina into Gasparilla Sound, about a mile or so past the swing bridge. Immediately caught a bunch of trout, some on the big side. Nearly every cast we got hooked up. Using pilchards.

Then the Spanish Maks arrived and we caught quite a few. The dolphins also showed up and surrounded the boat and even followed us when we moved. A few of the trout and SP Maks flipped off the hook near the boat and the dolphins made short work of them. We had to be very careful and get the fish in the boat quickly as the dolphins we pretty aggressive at times.

I hooked one BIG Mak...the kind that takes 100 yds off the reel in a second or two. I finally got him stopped and turned around. When he was about 20 ft from the boat the water boiled up and an 8+ foot shark took him. All of this was in about 3-4 feet of water. Made for some very exciting fishing

Even saw some Tarpon tailing but they stayed well away from the boat.

Fantastic time on both trips.

-Gary

[CTC]

Originally Posted by garyk9gs

I thought I'd better post how I did.

First trip was on Wednesday, April 25th. We went off shore out of Fisherman's Village. Ended up NW of Boca Pass about 20 miles out. Filled the big cooler with several types of snapper, one keeper red grouper, several misc species (grunts, blue runners, triggerfish, etc.), and one big King. The weather was awesome and had a great time.

The second trip was on Friday, April 27th, and we went out of Eldred's Marina into Gasparilla Sound, about a mile or so past the swing bridge. Immediately caught a bunch of trout, some on the big side. Nearly every cast we got hooked up. Using pilchards.

Then the Spanish Maks arrived and we caught quite a few. The dolphins also showed up and surrounded the boat and even followed us when we moved. A few of the trout and SP Maks flipped off the hook near the boat and the dolphins made short work of them. We had to be very careful and get the fish in the boat quickly as the dolphins we pretty aggressive at times.

I hooked one BIG Mak...the kind that takes 100 yds off the reel in a second or two. I finally got him stopped and turned around. When he was about 20 ft from the boat the water boiled up and an 8+ foot shark took him. All of this was in about 3-4 feet of water. Made for some very exciting fishing

Even saw some Tarpon tailing but they stayed well away from the boat.

Fantastic time on both trips.

-Gary

wow sounds like quite the day!
Next time out I'm going to head up to Gaparilla Pass for sure!