Port Of The Isles

Mike Barone, Wayne Ethier, Geo and myself departed Port of the Isles boat ramp at around 6:00am well before sunup. We watched the sun slowly illuminate the surrounding oyster beds and back bays on the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The gulf is only a few miles away and the water is coming in. Fishing the moving water in little rivers just before Chatham River the snook and snapper along with gag and Goliath grouper were feeding. The shark and tarpon were really active on the later outgoing flow at the mouth of the river. Wayne hooked up more than any one using mullet and lady fish for bait. The bottom at 12 feet was entangled with debris from prior hurricanes and was havoc trying to get these fish to the boat, but it was fun trying. As mike slept on the deck we headed back north toward Indian Key and eventually Port of the Isles. The day ended up with a worn out crew, but that's when you know you had a good day on the water in the middle of nowhere Everglades National Park, Fl. Capt Zeke

Squall Fishing

Jason Smith and his "keeper" Redfish after fishing through 40 minutes of torrential rains


Jason Smith and myself left Naples boat ramp on Tuesday the 22nd with the rain coming down. The Best part about fishing through the afternoon squalls is that there is usually no one around who wants to test there skills. We had all off Naples inter coastal to our selves, and the fish were biting. Ja caught a 26 3/4in red fish for dinner and that was in a torrential downpour. The big snook were busting mullet on the mud flat we were fishing so I got the top water plugs out and started walking the dog. It was very exciting getting slammed by large fish over and over. The bugs were thick and it got dark quick so we called it a night and started home to prepare some red fish for our reward for a real challenging trip.

September 10th Predawn Snook and Redfish

Marlene Chaplin and Tom Spencer of Naples and I left Bayshore boat ramp before the sun rose on Thursday the 10th of September. The double header snook bite happened seven minutes after arrival at one of our local fishing holes. I landed a 41 inch female snook in 24 foot of water and Tom's departed after a brief interlude which was captured in a few words of wisdom while I fought my fish for a good couple of minutes. After fishing along Keeywaden beaches for a 1 1/2 hours we landed numerous small snook and lost one huge sideliner. The redfish, five in total, were all over size and still feeding when we left the rock jettie. It was a beautiful morning and I am sure Tom and Marlene will feel there forearms tomorrow!!

Tom Spencer and his Redfish and the Captain With the Release



The Captain and His 43" Oversize Female Snook

Barracuda September 2, 2009

Brian and his 20lb barracuda with Capt.Zeke

Marco Island Snook Season Opening Day September 1, 2009

Jason Smith with 25 Inch Snook and Connor Dunn with 20 Pound Goliath Grouper

The bait and the head pin out of Gordon's Pass yielded enough bait to start the day. Marco Island had a slow out going tide which produced forty pound tarpon, twenty pound jew fish and a few small snook. Time ran out and after three hours of fishing the tide went slack and we made our way North. The Gulf was pretty calm and the water temperature was 81 degrees. It was a good trip and Connor Dunn and Jason Smith of Naples, Florida said they had a great time.

Sunset Snookin August 25, 2009

Dave, Captain Chad and I left Naples boat ramp for a sunset fishing expipition on Tuesday the 25th. We found some pinfish and sugar trout at the head pin out of Gordons Pass snd headed offshore to try our luck. The weather was rainy and there was only two other boats in sight. The action started off hot with Chad catching a huge female snook close to 40in and barely getting it away from a very big bariccuda. After reviving her to give her a better chance of getting back down we released her on her way. The action slowed to a crawl with a few mackeral and rain heading our way we called it a trip and headed back in. With nav lights blaring we made our way home safe and sound with another succesful trip under our belts.

Everglades National Park at Daybreak August 23, 2009

(Turner River at the break of dawn)
Bill Faulkner a captain who fishes out of the park on a regular basis was gratious enough to take Mark butler and myself out on Saturday the 22nd. The sweet water was more productive than the outer points because of the tide differance. The back waters were really high and the small tarpon and snook were there but not overly agressive on the bite. Outside was a completely different story with a westerly wind at ten knots that kept the water stirred and extremely low. Black drum were the most prevelant fish around the outer islands, but were reluctant to strtike without some shrimp. Bill is an artifical fisherman only, which makes it more of a challenge and really tests your skills. It was a beautiful morning and a great feeling running through Chatham river to the Gulf of Mexico and seeing all the birds and alligators which are only some of the critters lurking out in the middle of nowhere.


(top) Mark Butler 26in sweetwater snook and captain Bill Faulkner (below) 16' hellsbay flatsboat