My Move to Fish-Tale Marina... 1 Year and Counting.

A little over a year ago I got a call from a friend of mine, Captain Mark Combs. We did a bit of catch up conversation and then he got to the meat of the call. He asked me about the possibility of moving my charter operations from the public ramp at Punta Rassa to a marina on Fort Myers Beach and perhaps helping out with adding a charter fleet to that location. Now I know that sounds like a no-brainer to most folks but for me, and many other charter captains, the thought of leaving the “no strings attached” lifestyle to work under supervision takes some thought. I said, “Mark... I’ll get back to you.”

A couple of weeks later I was sitting in the office of Al Durrett, owner of Fish-Tale Marina, discussing the logistics of a possible move and wether it would work or not in todays volatile economic climate. His idea was to put together a group of the best captains in the area to give his clientele a shot at some of the best fishing that Estero Bay and the Gulf of Mexico has to offer. He was looking to round out what was already a successful business and put more foot traffic in the marina.

I’ve spent a great deal of time fishing in the Florida Keys and much of that time was spent on the island of Islamorada. Almost every marina in that area had a charter fleet of both offshore and inshore guides. On any given day you could take a trip to the deep blue water for sailfish, dolphin or tuna or go back country for bonefish, permit and snook. I loved walking though Bud and Mary’s, Papa Joe’s and Holiday Isle looking at the charter fleet and wondering what it would be like to work out of a place like that. Time to find out.

One year later the fleet at Fish-Tale has grown to nine quality captains with over 300 years of combined fishing experience. Captains Mac McKinley, Mike Denegre, Brad Brown, Sean Davis, Ward Kowalyk, John Fetter, Sam Arcure, Phil Pica and myself make up a list of some of the finest guides in the area and all are well versed in putting folks on fish. I’m proud of this gang. I’ve watched them work hard day in and day out to make lasting memories and go the extra mile for customer satisfaction.

Captain Mac has more experience in his little finger than most of us have in our entire bodies. You want to learn something about Estero Bay? Mac is your man. Captain Mike is the family guy. He does group trips and always returns with dinner and smiling faces. Captain Phil is an offshore guide that specializes in sight fishing for permit, tarpon and cobia. If he can’t find fish then they aren’t out there. Captain Sam splits his time between back country flats fishing on an 18 foot skiff and captaining the Estero Bay Express; a 50 foot excursion boat that does sightseeing, dolphin watch and sunset cruises. Captain Brad, Sean, Ward, Jon and myself make up the back country crew. If you’re looking for trout, snook, redfish or tarpon on light spin or fly tackle then look no further.

A year has gone by and I have to say that it’s hard to beat the marina atmosphere. I’ve taken a genuine liking to Fort Myers Beach and love working there. It’s a beach town with beach people and that’s hard to beat. It has a character all it’s own and I’ve met some great folks there. There are small motels, beach resorts, restaurants and hidden away watering holes. There are lots of places to shop. I like the fact that you can find everything from expensive beach art to t-shirts on the beach.

Spring is in the air and summer is right around the corner. Take time out of your vacation or busy work schedule and visit “The Beach”. Stop in at Fish-Tale Marina and say hello to the gang. You won’t meet a friendlier bunch anywhere. We’ll be happy to show you our little slice of paradise.

Capt. Rob Modys
SoulMate Charters

I write a monthly column for the Nautical Mile Magazine called "Reflections On The Water". I'm re-posting it here in memory of a good friend.
In the photo, left to right. Capt. Rob, Travis Palmer and Nick Contessa... Team "BC Soul".

Reflections On The Water

I lost a good friend and a fishing buddy a week ago. He died in an auto accident on his way home from a meeting in Clearwater. Nick Contessa was a great guy with a passion for his family and fishing. I spent quite a bit of time with him on Estero Bay looking for the ever elusive snook and redfish and talking about our families, dreams and past fishing victories. Every now and then we actually outsmarted the fish. Nick was fun to be around. He was always jovial and full of life which makes it all the harder to say goodbye. Take care my friend. Say hey to Dean-o and your Dad when you see them up there and tight lines.

The following Reflections article is a reprint from March of 2006. I wrote it for Nick after his father passed away.

There’s an old saying that goes something like this… Every day spent fishing adds another day to you life. I wish that were true! But there is some merit to the idea that spending time on the water, away from the trials and tribulations of life, can help alleviate some of the day-to-day stress found on the mainland.

Fishing, whether from shore or from a boat seems to be a “mind eraser” for most anglers. I know that when I’m out there looking for the next big snook, redfish or tarpon, I have very little time to think about anything but the approach and the hopeful impending hookup. This is what led me to call a good friend of mind whose father had recently passed away.

Nick Contessa and I had spent quite a bit of time together on Estero Bay fishing and talking about family, work and the latest lures and fishing tactics. The death of his father had hit him hard and had taken him away from the water. Having lost my dad only a few years ago, I knew a bit about what he was feeling. Like my father, Nick’s dad had introduced him to fishing and had taken the time to see that angling became a part of his life. Nick told me that his dad really didn’t fish all that much himself, but he enjoyed watching and helping Nick. Obviously it’s paid off. Nick is an excellent angler and a pleasure to share a boat with. It was time for him to get back on the water. I called and we set the date.

We started early and headed to one of our favorite spots at the top of the bay. The fish were there and the fun began. We found school after school of marauding jacks chasing bait around and through the oyster bars. Some of the schools were so large the “push” of the water looked more like a pod of dolphin! The mix also included a few snook, ladyfish and Nick managed to get hooked up with a big red.

Nick then suggested we try a spot that I hadn’t fished before and we were off to the backcountry of Estero Bay. After arriving we started casting soft plastics to the bushes and the bite began almost immediately. We both got several snook and large trout along with more jacks. The water was falling and the bite continued for over an hour. We still joke about my next comment. “Nick, I don’t think there’s enough water to float a fish back here now. We might want to think about getting out of here before we have to spend the night.” I then looked up under the mangroves and saw a big redfish moving slowly with a bit of his back and tail out of the water. I led him with a cast and within seconds the fight was on! A few minutes later I landed a twenty-six inch fish. After releasing the red and laughing about what I’d said about the lack of water, I spotted another push well up under the mangroves. Nick graciously said, “Go for it” and soon I had another big red on. The drag sang and the fish ran up and down the mangrove line but there was nowhere to hide. The water was well below the roots and after a short tug-of-war Nick netted another twenty-six inch redfish.

We decided it was time to move on so we headed to a creek opening and ate lunch while waiting for the tide to turn back inward. The conversation eventually led to our dads. We reminisced about past fishing outings with them and how we both were instilled with an appreciation of the outdoors and wildlife. We talked about the first fish we ever caught and the biggest. The conversation was never sad. It was more of a celebration of our angling roots. We both felt that if it hadn’t been for them, we wouldn’t be doing what we were doing that day. And what a shame that would have been!

After catching a few more fish in the creek we headed for home. The fishing had been fantastic and the camaraderie even better. Nick was back on the water where he should be and both our dads were smiling.

Remember, find the time to take your sons or daughters boating and fishing. It’s important to show them what we enjoy in hopes that they’ll continue the traditions that mean so much to us.

Capt. Rob Modys
March 2006

Cooking Your Catch

Of all the questions I repeatedly get asked during a charter there is one that comes up on just about every trip. How would you cook the fish we caught today? I usually reply with a kind of Forrest Gump answer. You can light fry, deep fry, batter fry, broil, bake, grill, saute or even make sushi out of your catch. After a few more questions I can usually narrow it down to one or two suggestions, give a simple recipe and send them on their way to enjoy a fresh seafood dinner. So on that note I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite ways to cook the fish we catch and maybe give you some new ideas as well.

I think that baking fish is probably the easiest and quickest way to get fillets from the fridge to the table. First, line a baking pan with aluminum foil and then spray the foil with PAM. Place the fillets in the pan. Put a couple of tabs of butter, your favorite spices and some fresh squeezed lemon on each fillet and then put the whole thing in a 350 degree oven. The cooking time will vary based on the thickness of the fillets but I usually recommend checking them after about 15 minutes. The simplest way to check fish for doneness is to put a fork in the fillet and twist. If the meat cleanly breaks or flakes away then it’s time to serve.

If you like your fish with a crisper crust just follow the above instructions but instead of baking the fish, try broiling. You really have to keep an eye on this method because the oven temperatures are much higher for broiling vs. baking and this will speed up the cooking time. It also doesn’t work well for a real thick piece of fish but there is a solution. Start the cooking process on bake and then switch the oven to broil after 10 or 15 minutes of cooking. This will help cook the fillet inside and out without drying out the meat and then provide a nice crust.

I love grilled fish. A thick piece of grouper on the grill is one of my favorite ways to enjoy this local, top notch fish. Add a few tabs of butter, some lemon and a touch of spices and you are good to go. Another one of my grilled favorites is a dish I came up with years ago... fish smothered in shrimp. Make a pan out of aluminum foil big enough to hold the fish you are cooking. Peel a half pound of fresh shrimp and set aside. Put a small amount of butter, some salt and pepper and fresh squeezed lemon on your fillets of choice and put them on the grill. While the fish is cooking mix the raw shrimp with some melted butter and fresh garlic. Just before the grilled fish is done place the shrimp on top and cook until the shrimp is pink. Serve and enjoy!

The image most often brought to mind of fried fish is a fillet covered in batter and then deep fried. I’ve got another idea and it taste better because there is less batter on the fish. Instead of dredging the fillets in milk, eggs or both to create a batter I prefer to “dry” dredge. Wash the fillets and then pat them dry with paper towels. Put your favorite powdered fish coating in a small brown paper bag. I like Uncle Bucks, Cajun Fish Powder or Drakes. Drop the dried fillets into the bag, shake and then put them in about a 1/4 inch of hot oil in a frying pan. Cook each side for about 3 minutes and then test for doneness by using a fork to break the fish. Serve with lemon slices or tartar sauce.

The last but not least option is probably the easiest. There are many restaurants in our area that will cook your catch. I’ve tried this at The Fish House, Lazy Flamingo and Pinchers and all were excellent. Most require that you bring fillets and not the whole fish and they offer a number of ways to prepare your catch. You also have choices of vegetables, bread and salads to go along with your fish.

Get out on the water, catch a few fish and enjoy the day and a fresh caught dinner.

Capt. Rob Modys
SoulMate Charters

To Shrimp Or Not To Shrimp, That Is The Question

As I write this, Southwest Florida is in the midst of its first real cold front of the season. Last night we had a record low of 46 degrees. Just a few days ago we were having record high temperatures in the 90’s. Things sure can switch around weather wise in a hurry. I had to go digging for my Gor-Tex jacket and bibs along with gloves and a hooded sweatshirt. Time to put away the flip flops and get out the boat shoes!

To make things interesting I had a fishing charter right in the middle of the change. Before the front moved in bait was easy to find along the beaches and the bite was steady for days, both in the backcountry and in the Gulf. I guess the fish could sense the change in barometric pressure and knew it was time to fatten up for the impending bad weather.

On my charter day the front had passed through the area. The morning temperature had fallen to 52 degrees and the winds were gusting out of the north at 25 miles an hour, which makes it feel like 40 degrees on the water. The low tide was a scheduled negative low at about 7:30 in the morning but the winds kept pushing the water out until about 10 AM and made for a low tide that exposed sand and oyster bars that I hadn’t seen since last winter. The game plan had to be seriously modified or perhaps not go at all.

My anglers arrived at the marina and I gave them the “lack of bait” and small craft advisory report and asked them how badly they really wanted to do this. The vote was to go if we could, stay in the backcountry out of the wind as much as possible and throw artificials if needed. I decided to give it a go and bought 100 shrimp as a backup plan.

I like fishing with live shiners and threadfin herrings and I often forget just how effective live shrimp can be. I tend to feel that a live swimming bait is going to catch the bigger fish while shrimp will attract only the smaller species. That’s really not true at all. Thinking back over the years, I’ve seen some pretty spectacular catches on shrimp. After all, they are native to our waters and I’m sure they are a major part of most game fish diets. The biggest redfish I ever caught was on a shrimp and jig combo.

We headed off to the north end of Estero Bay. The idea was to fish the many cuts found in the area around the oyster bars. There was so little water due to the low tide and wind that I figured the fish would have to be in those cuts. Heck, there wasn’t enough water anywhere else for them to swim in! The hunch paid off in a big way.

We used nothing but shrimp for bait and rigged them on small yellow 1/4 ounce jig heads. The guys cast them near oyster bar points and in the deepest cuts and then worked them back nice and slow over the bottom. During the course of the day they caught over 30 snook including two slot fish, a couple of nice redfish, keeper trout, a dozen keeper sheepshead, a small gag grouper, scads of mangrove snapper and more than our share of catfish. We had constant action for most of the day and we arrived back at the dock with smiles on our faces and dinner in the box.

The valuable lesson here is don’t be afraid to change gears when things get tough and don’t be afraid to put live shrimp in the well as a go-to bait. As we move further and further into the winter months live shrimp should become part of your game plan. They area easy to get and easy to use.

Best of luck!

Capt. Rob Modys
SoulMate Charters

Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach

I'm looking out through the sliding glass doors of my room at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.  I'm here attending the Governor's Conference on Tourism as a partner with Visit Florida.  The view is spectacular.  The Atlantic Ocean is  emerald green and dotted with cruise ships, freighters and cargo ships.  From my balcony I can also look toward downtown Miami and see the many skyscrapers, the Intracoastal Waterway and the main entrance drive for the hotel.  The entrance drive is fascinating.

I've never seen so many Ferrari's and Lamborghini's in one place in my life!

The hotel is instantly recognizable from the beach side by any James Bond movie fan.  The opening scenes from Goldfinger were shot arou

nd the pool area and the curved main building looks just as it did in the early 60's.   The famous curved Stairway to Nowhere still graces the main lobby.  The staircase was used so the rich and famous could make grand entrances to festivities and be photographed by the paparazzi.

The hotel has been completely remodeled to its original glory.  The Art Deco architecture is beautiful.  Marble and soft pastel colors and lighting make for a pleasing visual effect and instantly take you back to a time of martinis, the Rat Pack and Marilyn Monroe.  The pools and lounge areas make up an oasis of private cabana getaways.  I can now mark another place I've always wanted to visit off the list but I have a feeling I'm going to have to return!   

Observations:

1.  There are more beautiful women per square foot here than anywhere in the world and most have learned to walk on very, very high heels.

2.  There is no such thing as a bad tasting cup of coffee in Miami.

3.  Cigars taste better here.

4.  Ocean Drive in South Beach is worth cruising in a red 2010 Chevy Camaro SS with the sunroof open.

5.  I've been to both Las Vegas and Miami Beach.  Boob jobs are big money in both cities.

6.  The clubs don't open until 12 midnight and it cost more to enter if you are male.

7.  The IHOP in Miami Beach has the best service of any restaurant in the country.  I've never seen so many happy servers. 

 

Eleuthera Adventure

I have been to a lot of beautiful places over the years and have enjoyed the scenery, fishing and the local hospitality but my latest adventure was, without question, the best.

Several months ago while at a small get together some close friends of ours mentioned that they wanted to return to the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. I listened with curiosity while Angie and Alan explained the area and what it had to offer in the way of fishing. They also mentioned that it had some of the most remote and beautiful beaches they had ever visited.

I few weeks later, at another party, they brought photographs of Eleuthera with them and ran a slide show. One word came to mind while I watched... Paradise. My wife JoNell and I made the decision right then and there that we weren’t going to miss out on this trip. Neither one of us had had a real non-working vacation in over 11 years and now was the time.

Plans were eventually made to include my brother, his sons and my mother on the trip but a series of events nixed that and the traveling party turned out to be just the four of us. Angie and Alan did their best to prepare us with the proper traveling paraphernalia. They advised us on fly fishing gear, flies, lines and leaders as well as all the other extras to be packed for the trip. We even invested in a small hand held GPS to help us find our way around the island. It looked like we were going on safari instead of an island vacation.

My first look at Eleuthera was out of the chartered Beech 1900 airplane window at about 3000 feet above the island. What a view. A combination of pastel blue and green greeted my eyes along with strips of pink sand beaches. The remoteness of the scene below was breathtaking.

Eleuthera is located on the most eastern edge of the Bahama Islands. It is over 100 miles long and in most places, only a few miles wide. There is one main road that runs the entire length of the island called Queen’s Highway. Off the highway there are hundreds of small roads (more like rutted paths) that lead to some of the most remote and beautiful beaches you will ever have the pleasure of leaving a footprint on.

After arriving at the airport and checking through Customs we loaded our bags in our rental jeep. The paperwork for the vehicle was simply a signature. No check of a drivers license, insurance, first born son or credit history. You signed a slip of paper that told you the daily rate and drove off. No worries mon!

A short time later we checked into the Duck Inn at Governor’s Harbour. The small town is located almost in the center of Eleuthera and has some of the oldest architecture on the island. The Duck Inn is owned by John and Kay Duckworth and is a private compound with four buildings connected by winding walkways bordered by orchid and fruit gardens. It’s a paradise within paradise.

During our first couple of days Angie and Alan acted as our tour guides and then turned us lose to explore. We soon learned why Eleuthera is sometimes referred to as the “Adventurer’s Island”. JoNell almost drowned at the Friday night Fish Fry. It’s a long story. We almost drowned our rental jeep. It’s a longer story. We almost drowned our rental jeep again! It’s another long story. Let me put it this way. If you want to have the most fun and find the most beautiful beaches and the best fishing, you have to work for it. There are very few signs to point the way.

There are scenes on Eleuthera I will never forget. My first look at Ten Bay. Savannah Sound at low tide with elusive bonefish everywhere. The coral reefs and the beach at Lighthouse Point. The Queen’s Baths. The caves at Twin Beach and the spectacular view at the top of the cliffs. I could go on and on.

One thing is clear. JoNell and I are already planning our next trip to Eleuthera. We learned a lot the first time around and we want to continue exploring the island. There are many more photos to be taken, fish to be caught and beaches to walk.

Fishing the Caloosa Catch and Release Tournament

Over the years I’ve participated in many small fishing tournaments. Most were benefits for organizations I support or group efforts put together by fellow guides for large conventions and the like. I won a few and lost a few and they were always fun. The only pressure involved were the side bets that the guys and gals made the night before over drinks. Sometimes a lizardfish would pay big!

I wasn’t really interested in big name and big money tournaments. I have a successful guide business and that takes up most of my time. The thought of more days on the water working tournaments just seemed a bit much to me. But then a series of things happened.

First, I started running my charters out of Fish-Tale Marina back in early 2009 and by shear coincidence I had seen the flier for the 20th Annual Caloosa Catch and Release Tournament coming up in June. I got an idea to put together a team for Fish-Tale and was lucky enough to land Capt. Brad Brown and Capt. Sean Davis as teammates. We all had been working charters out of the marina for several months and all of us know Estero Bay pretty well but we had never fished together before. Brad had lots of tournament experience and had recently won the Flatsmasters. Sean was also well versed in tournaments and had fished the Caloosa series for 7 years. I was the tournament series virgin with lots of fishing experience and lots of enthusiasm!

Then a couple of months ago I took over the reins of a fishing radio show called Reel Talk on ESPN 770. The show covers all things fishing in and around Southwest Florida including environmental issues, fishing and boating shows, fishing reports and tournaments. I felt I was pretty well versed in most aspects of the sport but I was sorely lacking in first hand knowledge of tournaments. Also controversy had suddenly entered into the equation. Many of my friends and fellow captains believe that tournament fishing is harmful to the grass flats and to the fish themselves and may even be detrimental to the quality of fishing in our area.

I’ve always felt it’s tough to talk about something unless you’ve experienced it first hand. You can read about parachuting or scuba diving a deep wreck, but until you’ve actually done those things you really have no idea what you are talking about.

The wheels were in motion and it was time to jump out of the plane.

The Caloosa Catch and Release fishing tournament is a 2 day event. The sought after species are snook, redfish and sea trout and you must have 2 of each fish on your scorecard each day. In other words... you have to “double slam” on BOTH days to even hope to finish in the top 10. The scoring is done in inches. The total lengths of all the qualifying fish are added up at the end of the 2 days and the team with the most inches wins.

I had done the math. Based on past tournaments we had to score at least 300 points to be in the top 5. That meant that each fish had to average 25 inches. I can’t remember the last time I saw four 25 inch trout in a two day period! We were going to need some nice reds and snook or this was going to be difficult at best.

Sean, Brad and I had made a pact just days before the tournament. We all agreed to have fun. Don’t get me wrong, winning was important to us but I believe we were more interested in enjoying ourselves while doing well.

Day one went pretty much as planned. We had a big snook and a big redfish on the card early and then added another mid-sized red and snook by 9:30. We then worked on trout and had the card filled by early afternoon. I had caught 4 of the 6 fish on the card and was starting to feel like I was earning my keep along side the “Pros”. We had to be back at the dock by 5 PM for check-in so that gave us time to do some upgrading. Sean had had a rough morning with break offs and a missed fish but soon redeemed himself by landing a big red and a big snook within minutes of each other. We headed for check in with 161 inches of fish. At the end of day 1 we were half way there.

Day two wasn’t pretty. I worked the radio show from 7 until 10 AM while my partners fished. When I rejoined them at 11 AM they had a nice snook and redfish on the card. But the bay was crawling with boats and there was another tournament taking place. It seemed that every spot we wanted to hit already had a boat on it. The decision was made to search far and wide for available space but that didn’t work either. We finally picked up another medium sized snook around 2 PM and decided to hit an area we had fished the day before. Once there, Sean nailed a big snook right away but it popped the hook. A few minutes later he hooked up again and this time was able to boat a big snook for an upgrade. Brad then hooked up with a big redfish but it popped off at the boat! To say we were all bummed would be an understatement. It was after 3 PM and we only had two snook and a red on the card and we knew we had to head back at 4 PM to make the check in on time.

While Brad and Sean worked live bait for another redfish I decided to put on a popping cork and “Gulp” shrimp combo and look for trout. The flat looked good for both species and time was running out. At about 3:30 I hooked a big fish. It was the big red we needed but I was fighting it on the smallest rod I had with me. After a short battle my partners netted the fish and there were smiles and high fives all around. Now it was time to get a couple trout.

Sean got the first one on live bait at about 3:45. We worked and worked to find another one but it just didn’t seem like it was in the cards. At 4 PM Brad told me and Sean to keep fishing for a trout while he got the gear stowed and the boat in order to head for the check in. I was just about to give it up when my lure got smacked. It was a nice trout! We all held a collective breath until the fish was netted, measured and written on the score card and at 4:05 we headed for home with a full card.

We arrived at the dock with 4 minutes to spare and we turned in a total of 154 inches. That gave us a two day score of 315 points. We had made our goal and we finished 5th in the Pro division. We had beaten some of the best captains in the business and we had been beaten by the best as well.

Participating in this tournament has been an eye opening experience for me. I witnessed 68 teams work hard to get to the top of the leader board and I witnessed ethical treatment of the fish and the environment. The Caloosa also generated much needed funds via an auction for Florida Gulf Coast University and the Strong Kids Campaign as well as providing a family event that was enjoyed by all.

I’m still happy to just be a “charter” captain but I have to admit I’m looking forward to the next event in the Caloosa series.

Hey Brad & Sean. Wanna do it again?