Chris Bertuglia
The Captain: Jeff Zasadny
The Catch: Large Sheepshead
Where: Pine Island Sound near Captiva Island
Exclusively from the salty office of Jensen's Twin Palms Marina on Captiva Island, Florida. Here, you'll find photos, advice & of course, big fish stories!
Legendary Captain Jim"Sandbar" Thompson and his charter Crystal Bender out of Orlando landed nothing but big seatrout. Captain Sandbar has been plying the local waters surrounding Captiva Island for many years and he knows most of the tricks to catching all kinds of fish. On this day trout touts worked the best.
Aaron and Kris call Apoka, Florida their home port and Brian lives in Umatilla, Florida. Aaron trailered his boat to Captiva and is staying at Jensen's Twin Palm Resort and Marina.
Boy, what smiles! Boy, what fish! Two very big catch and release redfish landed by Ebin, Jim and Jesus. The guys had some help in the form of Captain Nelson Diaz who works out of Jensen's Twin Palm Resort and Marina on Captiva Island.
Pine Island Sound was the area the redfish were caught and the bait used was live blue crabs.
www.gocaptiva.com
Schools out and fishing is on the schedule. Kaitlin Gohr and Zack Arnett along with David Gohr enjoyed a successful day on the water with Captain Nelson Riaz aboard the Summerwind.
Black Drum, Sheepshead, and Mangrove Snapper are just some of the fish caught by the lucky fisherman from Germantown, Wisconsin. If you are visiting the Sanibel and Captiva area of Florida give Jensen's Marina a call and schedule your very own special day on the water. (239)-472-5800 or visit www.gocaptiva.com
Bill Coats of Captiva and crew enjoyed a morning of fishing with Captain Nelson Diaz. The guys wanted to catch snook and redfish and that's what they caught.
The snook, redfish and tarpon are starting their spring feeding triggered by steady warmer water temperatures. Action is almost a guarantee on into May as long as the tides are moving good.
If you would like to rent a boat and be your own captain or have Captain Nelson take you right to the hotspots call Jensen's Twin Palm Cottages and Marina at 239-472-5800 or go to www. gocaptiva .com
Lots of happy fisherman as this crew just returned from fishing aboard the Summerwind out of Jensen's Twin Palm Marina on Captiva Island. Captain Shawn Kelly took this crew to some of his hotspots and found plenty of mangrove snapper.
To plan your fishing trip, visit www.gocaptiva.com or call 239-472-5800 for additional information.
Paul and Jane Foster of Toronto, Canada recently escaped the cold winter of the north and visited Captiva Island just off the coast of Ft. Myers, Florida. The Foster's enjoyed some of the area's great fishing during their vacation while hiring Captain Sean Kelly of Jensen's Twin Palm Resort and Marina.
Three beautiful keeper size trout were caught by the Fosters. To plan your own fishing trip call 239-472-5800 or go to www.gocaptiva.com
Wow! can't believe it February! Sunshine and warm. Well, its beautiful Southwest Florida so this is not so unusual and along with the good weather is great fishing.
Captain Neslon Riaz, working out of Jensen's Twin Palm Resort and Marina on Captiva Island, hooked his party up with redfish and trout. Nelson's charter, David Stanziak of Holland Township, NJ and Jim Gunning of East Holden, ME each caught keeper redfish and big trout.
The fish were caught in Pine Island Sound using artificial baits. You can reach Captain Nelson at 239-472-5800.
Working out of Jensen's Twin Palm Marina on Captiva Island, Captain Nelson Diaz showed three generations of the Marsh Family a good fishing time. Large amberjack and grouper were the catch of the day.
Captain Nelson has been featured on several TV shows with his monster catches. Call Jensen's Twin Palm Marina at 239-472-5800 to arrange your big day on the water.
The Olson Family from Middlebury, CT wore big smiles as they showed off their catch. Fishing with Captain Jeff Zasadny, the Olson's caught redfish and mangrove snappers. Fishing was best in the upper reaches of Pine Island Sound just inside North Captiva.
If you would like to catch fish like the Olson Family you can contact Captain Jeff by calling Jensen's Twin Palm Resort and Marina on Captiva Island at 239-472-5800.
Chris and Janet Hynes of Boca Raton, Florida enjoyed a recent fishing trip with Captain Shawn Kelly. This crew fished many areas throughout Pine Island Sound favoring the Captiva Island area.
While drifting Redfish Pass as it enters the Gulf of Mexico, Captain Shawn attempted to raise a snook or two. To everyone on board surprise, a very large flounder was landed. The crew brought the fish back to Jensen's marina where Captain Shawn prepared the catch for the happy couple. A crowd gathered and most commented as to the fish being "the biggest flounder ever been caught in these waters".
If you would like to book a charter with Captain Shawn you can reach him at Jensen's Twin Palm Resort and Marina by calling (239)-472-5800.
Sheepshead, mullet and farm raised clams were available this day. George and Queenie went for the mullet and sheepshead. Upon return to Captiva, Queenie did her magic and prepared and incredible seafood meal of the fresh mullet and sheepshead.
If you are planning a trip to Sanibel or Capitva Islands off the coast of Southwest Florida and have craving for fresh fish, contact Jensen's Twin Palm Resort and Marina at 239-472-5800 and arrange for a fun boat ride to Pine Island and pick up your own catch of the day.One of the more fun aspects of fishing is catching bait. In the Southwest Florida area the back bays and coastal shorelines are great habitats for using a castnet to catch bait. Using a castnet for the first time can be a little tricky.
Captain Shawn Kelly of Jensen's Marina has helped many a fisherman learn the art of throwing a castnet. First he throws it a couple of times to show how it is done then he guides the would be bait catcher on how to do it on their own. This particular fisherman helped by Captain Shawn was very happy as he became a hero to his young son for learning the art of throwing a castnet.
This weekend the Bait Box Castnet Rodeo takes place. Located on Sanibel Island, this annual event draws contestants of all ages to compete in various castnet throwing games for a chance to earn some great prizes. Jensen's Twin Palm Marina and Cottages has provided five $100 gift card raffle prizes.
If you are planning on visiting Sanibel or Captiva Islands, stop by Jensen's Marina and buy a castnet and one of the guys will show you how to use it. Happy Fishing!
John Landry with Waterproof Charts out Punta Gorda enjoyed a day of fishing with Captain Shawn Kelly. Just south and west of Captiva Island at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River, Captain Shawn found a hotspot for snook. John landed a beautiful 18lb fish as the tide was moving out. Shawn landed a 20lb snook as the tide stopped moving. Both fisherman used live pinfish for bait.
If you find your way to Captiva Island, stop by Jensen's Marina and ask for Captain Shawn Kelly and he will be sure to fill you in on the latest fishing hotspots. For additional fishing imformation for the Captiva and Sanibel Islands area visit our website at www.gocaptiva.com
Ray and Mary Lynn Posgay of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida are spending this week doing what they like to do most-fish. Yesterday morning they made their usual pit stop at Jensen's Marina on Captiva Island to pick up live bait shrimp for the days excursion.
The Posgay's loaded up their boat and headed for their fishing destination, the barrier island inlets off Pine Island Sound. Ray and Mary Lynn fished all morning then decided to take a lunch break, boat motor off, drifting out into the Gulf of Mexico, soaking up the sunshine. No reason to pull in the baits, just relax and enjoy their sandwiches.
Out of now where, Ray's line tighten's and takes off screaming. Ray dropped his sandwich and grabbed his rod and started reeling in. On the other end was dinner, a beautiful 17 inch mangrove snapper. Eating lunch, drifting along in your boat, catching fish. What a day!
Last stop of the day, Jensen's Twin Palm Cottages and Marina to show off their catch and have their photo taken. If you would like to show off your catch and have your photo hang on the walls of Captiva's Fishing Hall of Fame at Jensen's Marina call us at 239-472-5800 and let us know you are on your way. For additional Captiva Island area fishing information visit our website at www. gocaptiva.com
Tides are similar to weather as they are a major topic of fisherman and there is nothing one can do about them. A recent discussion of the subject at Jensen's Twin Palm Marina brought abut a common concern among visiting fisherman to Captiva Island-is the tide coming in or is the tide going out.
Listening to the captains who fish for a living throughout our area of Southwest Florida one will learn that the direction of the tide movement is of less importance than how fast the water is dropping or rising. The quicker the tide water movement the better fishing. Some tide charts provide relative tide movements and can be interpreted to know how quickly the water will be moving at any given time of day.
If you would like a tide chart sent to you or have questions regarding fishing the near waters of Captiva Island, contact Jensen's Twin Palm Cottages and Marina at 239-472-5800 or visit their website at www. gocaptiva.com