Shore Fishing
June 30, 2022 at 3:46 p.m.
Shore Fishing
By Kimball & Les [email protected]
Located along Placida Road just south of the intersection with Winchester lies the Dr. William “Bill” Coy Preserve on Buck Creek. This launch opened in 2006 and our scouting then revealed a muddy mangrove opening with pallets strewn about to help folks with the mud. We were not impressed. A recent re-visit to the site was better. A geo-tech mesh had been installed along with a few truckloads of shell to create a better launch. Adding to our positive review is the back-down to the water feature those of us with heavier fishing kayaks appreciate. Previously, the path down to the water was a dump which made a bad first impression when backing through garbage.
Our doubts lingered on this trip due to the mangrove tunnel route out of the launch to Buck Creek. It looks like a launch to nowhere but, once out to the creek, a series of white floats have been placed to help folks find their way through the maze out to Lemon Bay. Without these markers, navigating to the ICW and back would be challenging given the many dead ends and other maze features. Oyster bars interspersed along the route make it imperative to paddle carefully if you value the bottom of your kayak. This launch is better on higher tides as even the deeper spots are pretty shallow.
We were at once separated in the maze and spent a lot of time paddling and looking for each other’s yellow kayaks. Our original plan was to paddle south towards the channel to Rum Bay Restaurant and cross the ICW there where it’s narrower. Then, aided by a forecast southwesterly breeze we planned to fish the western shore of Palm Island north towards Stump Pass. By then, we reasoned, the western sea breeze would push us back across the ICW to the launch. That was before we saw the unbroken string of boats cruising the ICW at speed on Memorial Day weekend. It might have been possible to cross, but we saw lots of fishy spots right where we were.
Plan B called for fishing the myriad mangroves and oyster bars at the mouth of Buck Creek. As the afternoon heat built up, we left the mangroves to fish cool, breezy bay shorelines and were rewarded with several snook, and snapper that ate live shrimp offerings. Kimball brought shrimp and caught all the fish. Les was determined to stick with artificials and tried everything in the box but ended up fishless. There were tons of weeds and floating stuff (that’s the nice word) that made retrieving an artificial lure nearly impossible. And, that’s the best excuse he could come up with.
The technique that worked well for Kimball was to chin hook a shrimp 18" under a small float and toss this combo into pockets along mangrove shorelines. Her memorable moment came when a huge fish, either an over-slot snook or a big redfish, inhaled the shrimp and took off up the shoreline. Before Kimball could get the fish under control, her kayak plowed into the mangroves leaving her tangled up about twenty-five feet away from where the fish was thrashing around in the roots. She managed to free herself and her kayak and work down the shoreline towards the fish while gaining line. Unfortunately, as is usual in this situation, the fish wrapped around an oyster encrusted root and the leader parted. She didn’t quite land the fish but got to enjoy the hand-to-hand combat that goes with hooking big fish in the mangroves.
We recommend this launch but be careful to note the marker floats that guide you from the launch and back through the maze. We explored this area on a high tide and paddled back to the launch against a strong current as the water level dropped. Smarter kayakers left the area before the falling tidal current got too strong. Due to the maze of mangrove islands, this might be a good spot to kayak on a windy day. Bug repellant suggested. Explore the mangroves during a rising tide to avoid being stranded or lost. Be sure to get out of the mangroves before dark when the no-see-ums and mosquitos take over. Try to let someone know where you’re going and that you should be home by dark.
We hope these suggestions help visiting anglers in southwest Florida enjoy many productive and fun days on and off the water. Try to go “there and back again” ...safely.
Kimball and Les Beery, authors of Angler’s Guide to Shore and KAYAK Fishing Southwest Florida, contribute these excerpts from both Waterproof books to promote the excellent fishing available in the Englewood area. They are available locally at Old Florida Gallery on West Dearborn, and for download at www.anglerpocketguides.com and www.amazon.com.