There is something special about winter fishing in the deep blue clear water off Fort Myers in Florida. There’s no snow, short sleeves and shorts are usual garb everywhere and there are lots of fish – it’s exciting!
Each morning sunrise is nurtured with a tropical resource splash of orange color. Birds are singing in the nearby distance, baitfish slurp on the surface everywhere to escape as morning feed from predators and dolphins – a sight to watch, and there is the sweet smell of morning fog as it is lifting off the quiet waters that surround the waterfront here.
We feel a part of the natural resource here for a moment, as my wife (Rose) and I arrive at Sanibel Marina in Lee County, Florida. As we pull in, a giant Eastern Brown Pelican swoops in front of our SUV. “Wow! That was awesome, oh my goodness – that bird was so big, so colorful, so beautiful,” Rose whispered. Our open windows were rolled all the way down. We stopped to observe if a more such dive-bomber birds might be startled to provide another air show. It was refreshing.
As we looked down the dock to find our boat captain and first mate, another giant bird screeched about his fish catch and peered at us from across the dock, as the Osprey continued feeding her chicks in a lofty nest.
We were fishing with good friends from Western New York, Bill Hilts and his beautiful wife, Sandy, and all of us were really happy that we could finally find some time to get together in the outdoors with a fishing line in the Florida sunshine. We could here quiet conversation and the sound of several ice bags hitting the deck for the fish coolers in the distance.
As Captain Ryan Kane of Southern Instinct Charters (www.southerninstinct.com) turned the ignition key and started the three 250 HP Yamaha 4-stroke engines on the transom, he greeted us and we all were escorted aboard. Captain Kane maneuvered the sleek 36-foot Contender vessel from his comfortable Sanibel Marina boat slip to the bait shop dock to pick up his regular order of 100 live shrimp. The aerated live well was large at 50-gallon capacity.
Just then, a humble voice and a giant smile beckoned us ordinary land animals into the fun and fishing reality ahead, 1st mate, Captain Kasey Szereski