Jeremy, my friend Marcus, and I had been talking for a while about eventually planning a trip to Captiva to see Jeremy's grandfather and go fishing on his friend's boat. After months of talking about it and setting it for some time in the future, we finally picked a date and confirmed it as a few days we could come down and fish for saltwater fish on the southwest coast. I had a lot of hope for new fish and species, but most importantly we were all excited for the great weekend we had ahead of us. After fishing at Jeremy's lakehouse, Harrison was hooked on fishing. After hearing we were going on a fishing trip he seemed interested, so we extended him an invitation and he made it a group of four. On Friday at noon after classes we hopped in a car and began the drive down to Captiva, a beautiful island on the southwest Gulf coast for Florida. Shortly after we arrived we met Jeremy's grandfather, Charles, who showed us to his apartment overlooking the bay. We then got dinner and saw the sunset on the beach. That night we stayed out on the beach until we could see the stars out. Honestly, the lack of light pollution and the sky visibility was incredible and much better than I expected. The night sky at Captiva rivaled some of the best I'd seen out west, and it was an amazing thing to experience that first night on the beach. One could really get a feel for old Florida while we were there. Afterwards, we went back to the apartment. Charles was an extremely kind, gracious, and welcoming man to whom we were all grateful for hosting us and showing us a good time.
Saturday, April 6th:
We were originally supposed to fish today on Charles' friend's boat, since he runs a charter service and has fished with Jeremy and Charles before. However, unfortunately, the motor on the boat wasn't working. Charles was determined to have a good day on the water, so the five of us went on the ferry to Cabbage Key. It was a really nice time being able to get a better understanding of the geography of the bay while taking a boat on it, and enjoying the scenery of the beaches, the greenery on shore, the vibrant blue water, and the dolphins swimming alongside us. When we got to Cabbage Key, we enjoyed a very good lunch and walked a bit around the island. When it was time, we hopped back on the ferry to Capitiva. When we arrived, we figured that we would still try to get some fishing done. However, beaches like Blind Pass, a famous spot I'd wanted to fish for a long time, were starting to close and we didn't have the greatest bait for it. So we instead fished at a dock on the bay near the apartment, and just spent our time casting out near some pilings. It was relatively slow, but eventually Harrison hooked up with a fish. He was reeling in mostly to check his bait after feeing nibbles, but felt a fish and brought up a Hardhead Catfish. I had never caught a Saltwater Catfish before, so it was cool to finally see it in person. The Hardhead Catfish is one of two species of saltwater catfish that can be caught on the gulf coast, and while they are normally considered trash fish that steal your bait and are caught accidentally, I was glad to not only put one on the board and avoid the skunk but also to catch a new species. After this we went back to the beach to catch the sunset, then to dinner, then got a good night's rest before getting up early to head to Naples for a nice day of fishing.
Sunday, April 7th:
We woke up early, had everything packed, and headed in the car on our way to Naples because, since we did not have an available boat in Captiva, Charles booked us a charter with Lucky Strike with captain Gordie. We arrived at the dock and got on to meet him and his dog, Ripp. We soon made our way out through Gordon Pass and through to the rocks/reefs we would be fishing on. The geography of the Gulf coast is very different from that of the Atlantic coast. Whereas in Miami the water tends to drop off relatively steeply compared to the Gulf and the Gulf Stream current runs through it to bring offshore fish closer to the shore, there is a very large shelf on the gulf coast that makes it so that the water remains very shallow even when you go miles offshore. Because of this, we drove a few miles away to where we could barely see the Naples skyline or not even see it at all, but the water was still only 30-50 ft deep. We used squid as bait on a single chicken rig and dropped it to the bottom to feel bites when we came upon our spot. We started catching pretty soon after, and while the bites would come in waves, we were able to fill up the boat. Most of what we started to catch were Lane Snappers and White Grunts. However, some interesting species also showed up. Fishing the rocks, of course, we were hoping to not only catch good fish to eat but also a variety of species. Soon enough Marcus and Jeremy pulled up some nice grunts and Snappers to fill up the boat. Marcus got a big Tomtate, probably the biggest I'd ever seen. They are normally smaller fish, but he pulled one up that was the size of a decent snapper. Jeremy and I also brought in some Grouper types, including colorful Red Grouper and a Gulf coast staple (and new species for me), a small Gag Grouper. Harrison had a good time reeling in some snappers, groupers, grunts, and others until he unfortunately got pretty seasick. He was a trooper though, and fought through it to kept us out on the water. We tried a few different spots, each time adding more keepers to the icebox to take home. At one spot I caught a nice sized Blue Runner, a fish I hadn't caught in a while but was happy to see. Eventually, when we had a good enough amount, we made our way back to Gordon Pass, where we would find calmer waters. We all appreciated Harrison's willingness to stay out there, but we had caught enough and there were more fish to try for closer inshore. Even Gordie said that if it were him, he'd probably offer to pay for the whole trip just to be able to come back to shore. Honestly, I would probably do the same. I don't know how he did it. Regardless, after the trip back to the pass, we stopped to drop a few more lines. There was another Lane Snapper or two that we caught, but generally we brought in a few other species. One of which was a Ladyfish - a long and slender fish that looks sort of like a small Tarpon. I had caught one years before at Ft. Desoto, also on the Gulf coast, but it came off the hook on the way up before I was able to bring it over the pilings and take photos. Finally I was able to take photos and admire the fish on deck. We also caught another catfish, although this one was a Gafftopsail Catfish, recognized for its namesake long dorsal fin. We'd officially caught both species of FL saltwater catfish on the trip! Towards the end I also used a jig, which Gordie had used to catch a few grunts and snappers. Of course, a small Sand Perch took it, and I reeled it in with a small fight. At least I caught a fish with the jig, and I must have done something right. I normally fish with bait so I was satisfied with that. In total I caught about 22 fish, and the others on the boat caught similar numbers. Gordie was a great guide and made the trip easy, fun, and successful. Jeremy, Marcus, Harrison and I bid farewell to Charles, as he went back to Captiva, and we took the filleted fish to Pinchers, a restaurant in Naples that cooked our fish for us. They made fish tacos with our snappers and grunts in three ways - fried, grilled, and blackened. All were equally amazing, and we finished all of it. We then made our long way back up to Gainesville very satisfied after a very fun, long awaited weekend of fishing. It was truly an unforgettable time.
