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Vic Smith

On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:23:56 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 20:22:28 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

After a windy day on Pt Charlotte Harbor you will want a 35'. 16 is
too small unless you stay in the canals.

I'll have to live with it or stay home on windy days. My wallet isn't
too fat. 15k complete will be pushing it.

You may want to see what boat you need based on where you want to
live. See what the neighbors have, particularly the ones who go out a
lot and do the kind of fishing you want to do.

Every time I'm down there in the summer to visit my dad, who lives in
my sister's condo on a canal, there are no boats at the docks, and
hardly anybody living in the other condos. It's like a ghost town.
Guess that's why it's so cheap to rent down there. I only stay a few
days with my dad and his wife, then my wife and I head for St. Pete
Beach for a week or two..
We fish most day's on the Skyway fishing pier, but I'm getting tired
of that. It was fun and practical when we took the kids, and we used
to get a variety of fish. The past couple years it's been dead
(October versus August?) We caught more keepers in the canal behind
the condo in a few hours than we did in 30 hours on the Skyway.
Including a drum about 7 pounds.

Buying the wrong boat and taking a bath on it to buy the one you need
makes boating an expensive proposition. I don't want to be a downer
but the perfect boat in Punta Gorda Isles might not be the best choice
if you are 10 miles up into the estuary in Desoto County.

Nice splash of cold water in my face there, which is just the remedy
for boat fever that I needed, and why I'm posting here.
Really all I've seen of Charlotte Harbor is when going over 41, and it
nearly always looks flat and inviting. The only fishing I've done
there is canal dock fishing. Looking on a map at how it widens out at
the pass I can see what you mean.
You've convinced me to do some more on-site investigation before I
start looking at boats. I'll go to some marinas down there and talk
to some fisherman before I look at boats. Maybe charter what I'm
thinking of buying for a fishing trip. Thanks.

Personally I like the backwater and I do fine with a stripped down
pontoon boat but that is not really appropriate for open water and
Charlotte Harbor is very "open" down towards Boca Grande Pass.
The afternoon "breeze" off the gulf can really get that rock'n and
rollin.

Backwaters suit me fine too.

I am south of Ft Myers on the Estero River, near Estero Bay so I have
miles of protected water to poke around in. I have been up in
Charlotte harbor/ Boca Grande a lot with my Pine Island buddies and we
are usually in a 23 or 26 foot boat. It can get ugly. The tarpon
fishing is awesome there tho.

I fished a few times off the Pine Island bridge back in the late
'70's, early '80's. I understood that was good for tarpon. Took the
kids to Waltzing Waters and such. Always stayed at Ft. Myers Beach.
I hear it's changed quite a bit down there.
My dad and uncle lived in Cape Coral, and 2 of us would go out in the
Caloosahatchee in a 14-footer with a 10hp and catch all the fish we
could eat pretty quick. Anyway, I see your point about getting a boat
meant for the water you'll be using it in, and take it to heart.

--Vic

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