Horse conch and lightening whelk
Fort Myers beach dolphin cruise
Wow, we have been seeing so much wildlife where do I begin! Our morning cruises have truly been spectacular, our afternoon runs have been awesome with no shortage of dolphin sightings, and the sunset cruises have just been amazing to catch sight of dolphins, watch the sunset out over the gulf, and then watch the flocks of birds flying in to roost for the night. On a recent Coastal sealife shelling and dolphin cruise, we not only had playful dolphins jumping out of the water and playing near the boat but we also found another “Mongo” whelk, as well as a huge horse conch, and a sea hare. We put them back in the water after checking them out and talking about them with our passengers. Then as if the morning was as good as it could get, we saw a mother manatee with her calf moving into the grass flats to feed! What a treat as they have been rare to see lately with the cool water temps.
On a recent afternoon dolphin cruise, Capt Mike rescued a brown pelican that was entangled in fishing line, hooked in the leg, and unable to fly. Capt Mike was able to free the bird successfully and it flew away, but noticed that there was tons more fishing line still waiting to entangle more birds. He had me meet him at the dock after his tour, to go out and help cut all this line from the island. This isn’t just any island but a rookery island where our pelicans and wading birds are known to ‘rest and nest’. As I waded slowly over to the island, so I wouldn’t stress out and spook any birds, I was amazed at how much of this fishing line was there, woven over the branches, all the way to the interior of the island and back out, all the way to the top branches, and we measured about 75 ft of line that I took out of there. Wow, good eye Capt Mike for spotting that pelican. Speaking of Capt Mike, he has been reporting the redfish bite is back! We had a couple cold fronts slow the fishing down a couple weeks ago, but now with the water temps climbing back into the mid 60’s the redfish are hungry and biting! Capt Mike’s Fort Myers beach fishing charters have been catching sea trout, sheepshead, and redfish. WooHoo! Who likes Blackened Redfish Tacos?? ME ME!
If you have been around Fort Myers Beach lately, you have been enjoying our wonderful temperatures and gorgeous sunsets. Everyday seems magical here for us, and we thank all of you that come out with us to learn about and experience our paradise. Well, off for more Fort Myers Beach boating adventures- Cristina and the rest of the Good Time Family.
