9-1-12 fishing report by Captain Van Hubbard Time off to walk in the woods with a little pond fishing. We have some great fishing inside Lemon Bay and down into Charlotte Harbor and Boca Grande as things are settling down from Isaac. The Gulf was stirred up toward Venice but is settling fast now that things have calmed down. I don’t hear the surf any more this AM. I got out Thursday morning with Steve from Tampa he decided to get away from all the crowds with RNC. We enjoyed a exciting redfish bite at high water and he even caught one on his fly rod. They were slot fish and we caught a couple of nice trout for our lunch at the Stump Pass Grille. We caught a few snook but could not light them up. Steve and his wife enjoyed a fresh redfish dinner at Palm Island that evening and life is great!

I expect to see some mackerel when we can get out into the Gulf passes again. Stump Pass changed yet again and I’m sure Gasparilla Pass has shifted as well. It happens with all the strong west winds. Be careful after storms on this coast, our barrier islands have shifting sands, especially after beach re-nourishments. We are catching a few jacks again; they were hurt by the 09 freezes. While not that good eating they are fun to catch.  Trout are available and tasty; we cleaned our plates at lunch. Snook are closed but still fun to catch and release. Steve did manage multiple grand slams with snook, trout and reds. He actually caught the least trout but we were not after the smaller fish he wanted to feel some power. Minnows are small but plentiful; we’re using lighter gear and enjoying the action.

The Blue Moon last night was beautiful and was a bright August send off. Yesterday’s sun set was beautiful with awesome reds and blues. Fishing will just continue to improve as things begin to cool ever so slightly later this month. Red fishing is good because we do have some fish and can work them without too much help.  This is shaping up to be a great fall if storms leave us alone.

It’s hot so I decided to take a long weekend off and travel with a friend to the country. We left Friday just ahead of Isaac and came home as it passed by Monday evening, a great time to be gone. It was fun to be in a quiet farm setting in the mid west. Fresh eggs, tomatoes, and all, even home made preserves and bread! There were all kinds of wildlife to observe and enjoy. It was slightly cooler for a pleasant change. The folks were friendly and we even caught some bass and bream to go with our grits for breakfast before we left.

I caught a small bass and found a tiny snapping turtle in its belly. The turtle was still alive so my friend Linwood nursed it back to stability and released it down stream for a second chance. One lucky turtle; it’s nice to get another chance! I’m working on story about how it crawled out of his shirt pocket and got lost in our cottage. The bream were so big I could only eat one per meal. It was fun!

I hope everyone is well and it’s time to start planning your October trips for kinks, mackerel, reds and much more. Don’t miss out! Let’s go Fishin’ soon. Captain Van Hubbard. <www.captvan.com>