We have had beautiful weather here in South West Florida the last week or so. But, the last cold front brought some Red Tide to our shores and in our bays. We are optimistic that another week of warm temperatures and East winds with help the red tide move out in the Gulf, and off of the beaches. 

Meanwhile... We have been fishing South in the harbor system where the red tide has not been able to get. Trout, Snook, and Redfish are our target species, and we are finding plenty of them. The water is warming up daily, and with more warm temperatures in the weeks forecast, it a fantastic time to go Fishing in South West Florida.

Capt. Mike Slattery
941-626-6946

We are starting to see spring time conditions around South West Florida. The weather has been nothing short of beautiful, but we are still seeing some cold fronts forecasted for the middle of the month. We fished inshore last week, and the conditions were about perfect. Little on the windy side, but clean clear water and happy fish.

Redfish, snook, and trout were caught at almost every spot.The late winter early spring season is shaping up to be a great time to fish in South West Florida!!!

Capt. Mike Slattery
941-626-6946

We are look forward to getting back fishing after hurricane Ian!!! With Palm Island Resort opening up to guests in the month of March, myself and the guides of PIO are looking forward to some great spring time fishing. With rising water temperature we anticipate bait any day, moving into our bays and Harbor.

With that said we are still fishing our winter trend. The nearshore bite has been the "go to" when conditions allow. On a 2 boat trip today, we were able to catch triple tail and pompano inshore, and grouper and sheepshead nearshore.  With the warm start to February, it's a fantastic time for fishing in South West Florida!!!

Capt. Mike Slattery
941-626-6946

It's been awhile since my last report... In fact, it's been awhile since I was able to get on the water and actually fish!!!

Hurricane Ian did a number on the Palm Island and Manasota Key area. We got hit with sustained winds of 175 mph and gusts at 208 mph. (those are numbers from a wind machine set up by storm trackers in Placida) so you can imagine the rebuilding efforts are going to take some time.

Almost 90 days removed from the storm, Rum Bay restaurant in the resort is open and serving patrons. Owners and island residents are still filtering in, some for the first time since Ian. There are debris removal trucks on Palm Island daily, but there is still lots of clean up left. 

Our Pathfinder 22' made it through the storm, but with lack of use, there are maintenance items that needed addressed. That boat should be up and running by the holiday hopefully. Our Parker 25' had a tree fall on it, and hopefully be back online by spring or tarpon season.

We have fishing guides waiting for your bookings. Due to both of our booking venues having taken extensive damage, our last 90 days have been slim pickings for the industry eco tourism. It will be some time still, before we get back to normal, but our hope is that we can help fill some gaps for our friends and family in the industry. 

So, if you are interested in a fishing charter... Please reach out, we have fantastic fishing guides wanting your business and excited to get back to work!!! 

Thanks, and as always it's a fantastic time to just be alive in South West Florida!!!

Capt. Mike Slattery
941-626-6946

The fall season has arrived... With lots of rain this month, the water temperature has started to fall. Lots of snook are starting to move and stage in close proximity to our passes, and the outer edges of the backcountry. Large schools of redfish are being found throughout the harbor and bays. Trout are being found over the deeper grasses in high flow areas. Tarpon are staging in the deeper pockets of the harbor for a late season feed before winter. For all those reasons, fall is a fantastic time to go fishing in South West Florida!!!

Capt. Mike Slattery
941-626-6946

With cold temps in the air now, winter is really here... No fooling this time, it's for real!  So we are locked into our bay pompano fishing.  We are finding these great tasting fish, throughout the region. Tide, and sandy bottom with broken grass is important, clean water helps too. We are also finding nice trout and redfish on the flats, warming on the grass with rising temperature and water.  It really is a fantastic time to go fishing in Southwest Florida!!!

Capt. Mike Slattery
941-626-6946

Finished up a busy week of charters, with the Redbone Celebrity Fishing Tournament. Which I, after 10 years of fishing the tournament, have the opportunity to chair. And, benefits cystic fibrosis research, a disease that affects children.

We had 38 inshore fishing guides, fishing clients from around the US.  Each client is his/her individual team with their assigned guide, 2 clients per boat. All boats were tasked with going out and capturing the inshore Grand Slam (Snook, Redfish,Trout, and Tarpon).  With the fall season offering great weather and fantastic fishing, the guides and clients alike enjoyed the experience and tournament format.  The catch numbers are impressive even without all boats recording their catch.  The big winner are they clients and guide teams that can complete the grand slam!  With most teams only fishing 10-12 he's over a 2 day period, catch 4 particular inshore game fish species is not an easy task. 

Congratulations to all the clients and guide teams that won a category.  And thanks to all that donated time and money for a great cause.  As always, it's a fantastic time to go fishing in SW Florida!!!

Capt. Mike Slattery
941-626-6946

After almost 70 days off the water due to an engine failure, I was able to fish a group out of the resort yesterday. We headed south into the harbor system, and fished inside Gasparilla sound. After a long intermission and due to having some redtide in the area, we caught bait around our first stop to fish, so we didn't chance running through "dirty" water with it.  We bounced around, prospecting on the rising tide.  Started by fishing bar edges and holes, and as the tide increased and the water level rose, we transitioned to shorelines. We caught lots of jack, snook, and a few trout. We ended the day finding a nice school of overslept redfish, that we worked for about the last hour of our trip.  It's a fun time to be fishing in South West Florida!

Capt. Mike Slattery
Palm Island Fishing Charters
941-626-6946

The wind has been brutal since memorial day weekend. So, the Tarpon bite has been lackluster to say the least.  Because of that, I tend to turn my focus on another "big game" species we have available in summer time. Big snook hunting can be some of the most fun and rewarding fishing we offer. Multiple bite days, often in the double digits, with the opportunity for the anglers to land a trophy sized fish. June is the month for catching big critters, and we have them in fantastic order. It's a great time to be fishing in South West Florida.

Capt. Mike Slattery
941-626-6946
Palm Island Fishing Charters

Our Tarpon fishing is in full swing!  The entire fishery is "open" for bites.  The beaches, harbor, and passes all afford their own opportunity for catching the silver king.  This past week on the super moon, we concentrated our efforts on the beach and harbor fishery.  Our clients were awarded with shots at big schools of fish, and bites in the right conditions.  It's a fun and exciting time to go fishing in south west Florida!!!

Capt. Mike Slattery
941-626-6946
www.palmislandoutfitters.com
www.charlotteharborchronicles.com