By Kimball and Les Beery
The first part of December, we launched at Don Pedro which has been a favorite for years. This was an update trip to assess the recovery efforts there.
The facilities near the parking lot seem to be in good shape. There is no longer the option of driving down to the ICW so be sure and pack your dolly. Actually the road is fine and in better shape than we remembered now that the culvert has been fixed. The bollards at the parking lot prevent anything wider than a kayak from heading down to the water. Our Ocean Drifter kayaks have a large, covered front hatch that will hold our dollies when we launch; otherwise it’s a long walk to take the dollies back to the car and retrieve them at the end of the day.
The launch on the ICW was improved years ago with the designation of this area as a no wake zone. Previously the wakes and hazard from speeding boats made this a questionable launch. The dock survived. The kayaks and paddle boards available to rent at the parking lot are stored down by the water.
The flats west of the shoal bar across from the launch have been a trout hot spot for years but this day trout were scarce. We fished our way down the west shoreline to the entrance of the mangrove tunnel where we attempted to paddle to the hidden lagoon. Unfortunately, the tide was low and dropping making it too shallow for our kayaks. It did appear that the tunnel was open and would be passable at high tide.
Fishing our way south along the mangroves, we eventually arrived at the old bridge that spanned the channel into Rambler Hole. Recent storms caused this bridge to collapse on the south end but it’s still attached at the north end. We paddled underneath and headed towards the docks at the Island Base of Don Pedro State Park. What a mess. The docks that vanished during Hurricane Ian are still missing and the recent storms took out the kayak racks and walkway leading to the beach. Deep gullies were cut where the path used to be. It looked like the Gulf tried to open up a new pass into Rambler’s Hole. It is still possible to access the Gulf by hiking south, and then head west to the beach.
Approaching low tide, the shallow flat in the middle of Rambler Hole was only ankle-deep. Fortunately, even with a dropping tide, the fish were on the bite. We caught lots of nice trout, some over slot, and an equal amount of ladyfish, some up to 20” long and full of fight. We made several drifts across this area and caught fish on every trip. The exciting part occurred when the dolphins were hunting the same fish as we were. Every hookup had to be boated quickly before the dolphins chased it down. Then some patience was required to release the fish when the dolphins were looking the other way. On their own, they put on quite a show as they chased the ladies and trout around in shallow water. We would have liked to get this show on camera but it was over too soon. Still, watching dolphins torpedo across the flat throwing water 10’ in the air when they turned was a great show.
Though we didn’t catch any really large fish, we did catch and release an impressive list of species for an afternoon outing. speckled sea trout, ladyfish, barracuda, mangrove snapper, grouper, pinfish, puffer, jack crevalle, snook, and redfish. That’s 10 species on artificials in one afternoon. Fun!
Closing the park at 5 PM means there is no late afternoon bite to stick around for, but it also got us off the water before the bugs came out and we got to clean up the kayaks before dark and enjoy the sunset.
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 & amazon.com.