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Red tide


D-linesider

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You don't want to see the video from last week around BGP and the harbor.

The worst of it is now off of Sarasota.

Most of my guide buddies sent me video last week and it was very bad. They have been fishing Tarpon since late April.

They are there to make money and they don't like the conditions posted. Really not good for business if you get my drift.

Some very concerning evidence was sent to me. It seems as though it has diminished some from what they are telling me.

I normally don't post second hand news but I trust these folks to be straight up.

 

The red tide link i sent are samples from a very large area. You get in the wrong area of a bay or beach where wind driven brevis gets concentrated it can get ugly quick.

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Thanks for the insight. Hopefully I can find some good clean water. I am not targeting Tarpon at all just planning on banging the mangroves and drifting the passes for Snook and Reds. I never thought about the reprocussions of the nrgative press on the guides but it does make sense and I completely understand. Thanks again Capt. Troy.  

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I sure hope things are good for you. If your a live bait type of guy just be careful where you run as the time it takes to catch bait to have it killed going through a bad patch stinks.

 

I don't do face book but my wife does. Not sure how it works even but the guides that friended on her page are Jeff Hagaman, Ed Walker, and Steve Bowler. If you can see their post/video it will make you want to cry. They posted as a complaint due to this recent fish kill being associated with a recent Lake O discharge. Black water and ton's of dead fish.

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The red tide appears to have pushed a little further north than south and has remained off the coast. 

Bait was plentiful at Jug creek. I ran out of Redfish and Captiva pass over the weekend and saw very few dead fish. There was a small area out about 4-5 miles of algae and was couple hundred yards wide and no bait around till we got out to the 13-15 mile range. The inshore bite seems to be good as well if you stay away from the Caloosahatchee river flow into the sound and Gulf.

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I am down here right now. Lots of dead fish floating in and around Captiva pass yesterday. Must have been washed in from further north because the water looked great where they were floating. When you get up around cabbage key and BGP water turns nasty. We did not venture any further north. We fished south of Captiva pass and water was good the entire week. 

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1 hour ago, a375459 said:

Good info and appreciated. Got a house rented starting on 7/7 and am pretty bummed about what I read and see. Hopefully things will clean up a bit. Feel bad for the guys on the water everyday guiding

Keep us posted on what you see out there. Im coming down the 14th

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Friend of mine said he saw 40 floating fish between Pineland Marina and Safety Harbor yesterday but tons of boats out and about. Not sure what that means for the exact water quality in the pass and down the beach though. I’m considering going somewhere else for our vacation or does this stuff normally clear out within a couple weeks? There is a E wind starting up that I figured would help

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OK anglers, I spent the day in and around Captiva today.  Here's what I found.  No red tide apparent, anywhere. I found some weeks old dead fish about half way up Cayo Costa on the gulf side. Inside was loaded with snook and mullet. Saw a couple redfish. Lots of small bait, typical 4 inch pilchards were non-existent. Tons of pinfish on the flats. Lots of bait on the flat inside Redfish Pass. All small. Tons of snook in the Gulf shorebreak from Cayo Costa to RF Pass.  Snook were thick inside both passes. Saw some monsters. Ran out to natural bottom about 5 miles out RF Pass. Bite was hot. Lots of schools of large bait out there. Menhaden maybe?  Bay water is tannic, but I have seen it much worse.  Gulf is surprisingly clear. Put your boat in the water and go fishing! 

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Thanks Drummer, that seems better than what I was hearing too. The lady we rent our house from said that it’s been fine on the beach right on Captiva Pass other than an occasional dead fish. She did say to stay away from Cayo Costa which is a bummer, that’s been our favorite quick boat trip over the last few years. I guess we will have to check out the south end of N Captiva and the “new” sandbar 

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Yes, that new sandbar is pretty incredible. You can walk out to what used to be the island. The last storm moved a lot of sand around for sure. Cayo Costa is OK. We have been having lunch up near where the shelling tours come through from the inside. Water is nice, bait is abundant. Snook are in the shorebreak. The pass is super active right now with grouper and mangrove snapper. Also some huge barracuda in there to rob you blind. We boated a 25 inch gag yesterday while trolling lipped plugs in about 32 feet of water off RF pass. Estuary is teeming with bait, mullet, snook, and others. We are not working hard to find fish, but have not run north of Cabbage Key and probably won't. More to come. 

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I would love to get some first hand reports of the water from Stump Pass South to the outside of Cayo Costa!  My family and I rent a beach place on Don Pedro nearly every year for the past 15 years. I scratch up money all year to rent this place! Weekdays on the outside of Cayo Costa is one of my families favorite activities. We are in or on the water with the Pathfinder every day. I will cancel this years trip if the water is bad.Thanks in advance! Bubba

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Bubba B, Ill be down late Saturday afternoon. We launch @ Pineland and stay on Captiva Pass on N Captiva. One of our favorite things to do is pile up on the south end of Cayo Costa as well. Im going to do a ride around and check things out on Sunday. Ill post back anything I see

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Water outside Cayo Costa from about half way up south to Captiva Pass is nice. Snook on the beach, bait everywhere. Water is moderately clear on high tide. Nothing like this time last year,  but the water then was as clear as I have ever seen it. Bay water is dark, but fish are biting. In the pass we have caught snapper, short grouper, Spanish mackeral, hooked a tarpon, and had a large barracuda eat a grouper at the boat. Have hooked several fish I could not handle - maybe Goliath Groupers, not sure. Tarpon are thick in ~32 feet of water about 4 miles off Redfish Pass. Found the large pilchards under the trees on North Captiva, Gulf side. Today we fish the flats. Another Captain buddy loaded his boat yesterday with trout up to 6 pounds. I believe the red tide is waning. Not so sure about Lake O dumping. Time to fish. 

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