By: Capt. Terry Fisher
This past summer provided lots of fun comraderies, lots of fish action and great stories as many previous summertime adventures for me, 1st Mate Vicki and 2nd Mate Moby. July was the month that we spent time with family, friends and business acquaintances enjoying the beautiful water of the Atlantic, the fishing and boating pleasures it provided. The weather was good, the winds low and lots of fish catching to enjoy evening dinners. Every summer we look for opportunities to mix things up with friends of the boating and fishing world. This year was no different as we were joined by Brian Waid along with his son, Luke to experience a day on a Contender. Brian talked me into leaving my 26 Pathfinder HPS, which I love, at the rental house so I could experience a day on a Contender on the high seas. Very impressive I must say. Smooth and fast. Maybe my next boat?
This was quite a treat for me as Brian and his wife Nicole navigated from Fort Myers to Marathon to fish with me before heading to the Oceans Edge Resort located on Stock Island, next to Key West. Luke had driven down from the east coast, where he attends college. When not in school, he fishes. I had never met Luke before, but like his dad, I learned of his fishing knowledge and skills quickly while chasing mahi mahi, ‘Deep Dropping’ for a variety of snapper (queen, cubera, mutton); grouper (yellowfin, yellowmouth, yellowedge, etc.). We fished from the outer ridge of the Marathon Humps to Stock Island. I don’t recall covering so much water in so little amount of time as we switched from 1,000ft. drops to 400ft. in search of different species. Great time and looking forward to doing it again in the Keys and here in our Gulf waters.
As always, another treat was spending time with Captain Jay Rodriquez of Salty Native Charters, Cape Coral. Jay spends a lot of summers in Marathon and beyond. Jay and I ‘hook’ up from time to time to charter larger groups in Southwest Florida. Jay and I will be the featured speakers at the ‘Fishing Seminars’, sponsored of course by Coastal Angler Magazine, during the Ft. Myers Boat Show, November 14-17, located at the Downtown Convention Center. Be sure to come down as there is valuable inshore/offshore fishing information available for SW Florida/Florida Keys along with instructions/suggestions for beginning and advanced anglers alike.
Additionally, this year’s Marathon run included relatives from Missouri (brother, brother-in-law, sister, nephew and niece). They joined Vicki, Moby, and I for a week to enjoy boating to the restaurants, snorkeling and fishing for mahi mahi, wahoo, snapper and grouper. It was a great time as they had never fished the Atlantic for saltwater species. However, they were not expecting the extreme heat indexes that us Floridians have endured for the last couple of summers. All and all, it was a great time for them when not on the water to experience things we take for granted such as, tourist attractions and other activities of the Florida Keys. It was a busy but relaxing two weeks in Marathon this year as Vicki and I took the time to enjoy the rental house, each other, and Moby. We had a very busy winter and looked forward to the break in our schedules. We plan on heading back sometime next May to try and beat the summer heat!
In Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast waters, the inshore fishing should be really good this month with the waters in a cleaning and cooling off mode. I look for big redfish, snook, seatrout, mangrove snapper and other species to get more active with the cooler water temperatures. Offshore, the bigger grouper and snapper should return from 50-60 miles out in the Gulf to a more reasonable distance trip. Look for the for the larger fish to hold in 80-130ft. (30-40 miles offshore) of water as opposed to the summertime depths of 150-160ft. (50-60 miles offshore). Red grouper is open and after six months or so of closure, early October should yield good results for those getting out first. I can assure you that Vicki and I will be there so long as the winds permit. You must know the rules for each species as FWC is on the prowl and will be checking you, so be legal!
This is Captain Terry Fisher. Check out my website at www.fishfacecharters.com. Call me at 239-357-6829 or email me at fishfacecharters@yahoo.com to book a charter on your vessel or mine. I am available as ‘Captain for Hire’ on your vessel (by the hour) for instructional, safety, navigation, fishing techniques and locations inshore and offshore to ensure your every outing is successful.