SWFL Fishing Forecast for April, 2021

Its beginning to look a lot like spring on Charlotte Harbor. I’m having a hard time distinguishing the difference between weekends and weekdays. The plus with the pandemic, is its helped people to find love for the outdoors. The negative, is the added boat traffic. I probably shouldn’t consider it a negative, its great seeing people out enjoying what this area has to offer and nice seeing them enjoying what brought them to this wonderful area. I must admit it’s a little frustrating dealing with the added boat traffic. It would also be great to see these same people try to preserve what we have. I myself am guilty of not being more involved in preserving our estuary. Over the years I have seen the decline in our water quality. There is no quick fix to make it like it was 25 years ago. However, if we all work together and take care of the small things it will help. What we put into our waterways effects our fishery, that ultimately effects things for generations. We’re very fortunate to have a harbor that was not contaminated due to shipping on a industrial level. However, what is happening we’re loving what we have to death. Over the past years we have had a major loss of habitat that supports our fishery. We have seen major losses in our local grass flats. These areas are very important to the future of our fishery. Not only due these areas provide a nursery for juvenile fish such as snook, trout, redfish and other game fish to hide. It also provides areas for food sources for these fish to thrive. Prey such as small crabs, shrimp and baitfish call these grass beds home. Unfortunately these areas of natural sea grass that has been loss due to contamination will not just pop back up. Natural sea grass is a slow growing and needs several things to thrive. The most important is clean water, the second is sunshine. In order for these areas to receive good sun light, we must have clean water. I’m sure over the past few years you have noticed the high levels of algae in the water. It’s that nasty green stuff that gets stirred up when the wind blows. This is not normal, nor is it good for our harbor. It blankets our natural grasses blocking the sunlight then killing large areas of flats. This is due to large amounts of nitrogen being introduced into our waterways. Nitrogen is a product of fertilizer, but I’m sure it would be to much to ask to hold back on that extra fertilizer on your yard. Especially when we got some rain headed our way.

If you would like to experience some of Charlotte Harbor’s finest fishing give me a call or send me an email. All of our trips are private and customized to fit you and your party’s needs.

You can also follow me on Twitter @ backbayxtremes for daily and weekly updates.

Capt. Dave Stephens
941-916-5769

Captain Dave Stephens * (941) 916-5769 * Back Bay Xtremes * PO Box 510746, Punta Gorda FL 33951

Flats Fishing Charters for Charlotte Harbour, Punta Gorda, Florida