Winter time in South West Florida?  We ask this question, because our weather has been anything but cold!  Palm Island and Manasota Key have had a beautiful Christmas run of fair winds and mild temperatures.  With that the fishing has been fantastic.  The afternoon when it gets warmer, has produced phenomenal numbers.  We had a family from Atlanta, on an afternoon charter today.  "We probably caught 50 snook" is what the client said.... It's 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

Fall fishing has been great so far, even with a small bout with redtide. Locally, the bays that are closest to the passes and the beach, seem to be taking a little more time to come back. But, the backcountry of Placida Sound has been producing good catch numbers, for all the marquee inshore species.  Schools of redfish can be found on almost any tides.  Snook fishing has been good when the water is moving.  And, we are finding random trout, Jacks, and mangrove snapper along the way.  It's a fun time to go fishing in South West 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

Tarpon fishing is starting off with a bang!!! The new moon tides proved to be very good on the slower portions.  Most guides fished heavily around the passes this week.  We started to see some migrating fish showing up on our beach front, and these fish are opportunistic, and not relegated to feed on tide flow.  Great opportunity to sneak in some quick bites!!!  It's a fantastic time to fish in south west Florida!!!

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

For the last week in March/first week of April, we had another cold front.  This spring has been a trend of getting right with water temps and trends, and resetting...  It's really has been a grind.  With the latest Easter front, our water temperature dropped 13 degrees in the bay.  So, we reset into a winter trend and caught pompano, spotted sea trout, and flounder. We are looking forward to the summer season, it's time for the water to get warm around Palm Island.  With that said, it's great time to book your adventures with Palm Island Outfitters.

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

With warmer than typical air temperatures this month, our inshore water temperature has sky rocketed!  With that, and calmer winds last week, conditions set up for a good few days of inshore fishing this weekend.  Our good clients the Neimishine's, got a good look at an early spring school of redfish. These fish will push into our bays and flats as the water temperature continues to increase, flooding out of the creeks hungry and looking to feed.  This is a great time to go fishing in South West Florida!!!

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

With winter cold fronts on the weekly basis, we fisherman in South West Florida are in the depths of winter... Honestly, with all joking aside, it's cold in Florida.  So, that gives us guides a chance to fix some gear, do maintenance on the boats and trailers, and get geared up for the upcoming spring season.  Our clients should be doing the same... This is the time of year we start booking our Tarpon fishing slots for the Spring-Summer season. So, if you have ever wanted to make your Tarpon fishing dreams a reality, now is the time to contact your most favorite guide, and ink in your day! Tarpon season is on the horizon, and that fishing friends, is the most exciting time to fish South West Florida!

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