Fishing Reports by Capt. Butch Rickey

Wind and Poor Tides Again the Order of the Day! - Wind was again a factor this week, as were poor tides toward the end of the week. By Thursday the forecast was for 31 knots, and that's just time to stay at the dock. It was bad enough Tuesday and Wednesday, blowing near 25 knots! First up on Tu more...
Capt. Butch Rickey - Pine Island Sound

How quickly the weather can turn a full week into crap! - How quickly the weather can turn a full week into crap! We fished for three days is wind gusting to 25 MPH. By Thursday morning the wind was out of hand. Some of us put our boats back on the trailers and went home. Others went out to try to get t more...
Capt. Butch Rickey - Pine Island Sound

Poor Tides Make for a Tough Bite the Week Ending 3/21/09 - Very poor tides and a trip to Port Manatee to fulfill my TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential) requirement cut the work week a bit short. First up on Sunday was my good friend Dr. John Hitt, of UCF. He was over from Orlando for s more...
Capt. Butch Rickey - Pine Island Sound

A Week Full of Big Trout and Keeper Snook! - Save for one day, it was a great week of fishing. The big yellow-mouth sow trout are thick in the right places, and there are some nice snook eating, too. The week began with Jim Olson and his good friend Gary, of Superior, Wisconsin. We had man more...
Capt. Butch Rickey - Pine Island Sound

The Week Was a Blow Out! - Sorry! No report for Pine Island Sound for the week ending 3/7/09. more...
Capt. Butch Rickey - Pine Island Sound

Rescheduling Trips Was the Order of the Day, Trying to A Bite! - Constant cold fronts and the wind and high barometer that comes with them, along with cold water, have served to make catching very tough this week. I was supposed to fish on Monday with Bob Johnson, on what was to be the first of three trips. Bu more...
Capt. Butch Rickey - Pine Island Sound

It Was a Week of Juggled Days, Fog, High Pressure, & Poor Tides - Problems with fog continued into the first of this week, prompting some schedule changes. My friend Andy Mount and daughter Rachel and I sat at the dock waiting on the fog to lift until around 9:30 Sunday morning, which was altering my plans for fis more...
Capt. Butch Rickey - Pine Island Sound

It Was a Jam Packed Week Full of Good Fishing and Great Anglers! - It was my first full week in a long time. And, I mean full. Six days! Boy, am I out of fishing shape! It was the first week of good weather following the big cold spell we had, and we had pretty good tides to go along with the weather. Monday more...
Capt. Butch Rickey - Pine Island Sound

A Whole Week of Very Cold Weather and Big Barometer - There is no report for the week ending 2/7/09. more...
Capt. Butch Rickey - Pine Island Sound

It Was a Short Week of Good Fishing With Great Guys! - It was another abbreviated work week, but a week of great fun with some great guys, fishing cold water with artificials. The week began Sunday with John Ford, over from Delray Beach. We'd been blown out by the big cold front that had come through more...
Capt. Butch Rickey - Pine Island Sound