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Author Topic:   A Plethora of Whalers, Sanibel Island area

maverick posted 03-03-2001 07:06 AM ET (US)
Left South Carolina and motored down to Sanibel Is (Florida) area yesterday so I could get a quality sunburn. Whaler was doing great, hanging on Davits where I left it in December. Got it wet and headed out towards the lighthouse and tons of Whalers, everywhere. More than any other boat. Saw maybe 20 in 3 hours of buzzing around - 1 Dauntless, 1 new ~14' Rage, and almost all Montauks and 13s. Older ones with new power. Lots of Yammies. Coming in second were Grady Whites. Great day on the water, lots of sunshine, the old 85 18.6 a joy to run. Pass the aloe, though. Ouch. Maverick on loan to Sunshine State

kingfish posted 03-03-2001 07:35 AM ET (US)
You go, Maverick!!
Glad everything is working great (and am envious - still 4 weeks minus 1 day and counting before we head for Savannah). Hang a dollar on the wall for me if you run down to Cabbage Key. And if you hook a stingray fishing under the causeway, don't bring it in the boat with you.
Older but wiser-
Kingfish
Arch Autenreith posted 03-03-2001 09:36 AM ET (US)
Maverick. Nice post. I have a little longer to wait than Kingfish tho. I have to wait 'til school's out for the kids. Then I'll be hooking the ol' Montauk up and driving to Ft. Myers/Sanibel area from Pittsburgh for the summer. Lots of fishing, of course. Can you pass along a couple secret fishing waypoints for a fellow Whaler owner?:) If not, how about just some that are well-known. Will be my first time there not having to be a landlubber to fish.
Arch
jimh posted 03-03-2001 10:08 AM ET (US)
We just got back from a week in Florida, including Ft. Myers (where we were bound to the land) and Ft. Lauderdale (where we spend four days on the Intracoastal).
To judge by the boats we saw, you would think that Boston Whaler had a 40% market share. They were everywhere!
Perhaps due to the lure of all that ocean out there, the boats we saw tended to all have dual outboards hanging on transom brackets. And the dual engines all had Phantom Black cowlings--Mercury outnumbered everything else ten to one.
Maybe next winter we should have a Rendezvous down there about this time?
Dan posted 03-03-2001 10:24 AM ET (US)
I'm headed to Sanibel 4/14-4/21 for vacation with wife and kids. Anyone else planning on being there at this time? Unfortunately we're flying down from NY and I'll be Whalerless -- boo-hoo! It will be torture Whale-watching the parade of Whalers from landside. On the plus side, 4 days after we get back from Sanibel, weather conditions providing, I plan on getting my own 17 Outrage out of storage.
In 1992 I paid $75, along with one other person from Michigan, for 4-hours of Tarpon fishing on a private charter. (A great price) As soon as we put the bait in the water, 8 rods in total, I told the captain that my pole felt light, as though the line was just floating -- sure enough I had a Tarpon. Almost two-hours later (I guess I'm not that strong) I managed to get a 160lb Tarpon alongside the boat for release. We tried for another without success.
maverick posted 03-03-2001 12:49 PM ET (US)
Ahh, the secret fishing spots @Sanibel. Well, Redfish Pass is probably the best I know of, go to the side of it on the North Captiva beach, there's a hole there that's good. And if you get bored, motor out the Pass and hang a right down the beach; I think Heather Locklear's house is the third one. Hah! Binocs don't work too good though in the rough surf. Can be a treacherous spot; my nephew tried to beach his 17 Montauk there and got hammered - swamped the boat, he jumped out and managed to get it turned into the waves (he's a big, strappin' fella). Hopped in boat, knee deep plus, cranked up Yammy 90 and gave it the gas. Chugged, he said, water poured out the back, and he bailed with a 5 gallon bucket until he could pull the plug. Woulda liked to have a video of that one. Maybe Heather has one, heh heh. Lucky, and he agreed, he was in a Whaler. Period. He said he know understands why I hammered on him to get as his First boat, the Unsinkable Legend. So much for "fishing". I believe he was "trolling". Best, Maverick
trouthunter2 posted 03-03-2001 12:51 PM ET (US)
All right - do you have ANY idea what you all are doing to those of us here in Minnesota who are unable to venture out to Florida?! I must agree with Dan - if we can make it to FL - we would be Whalerless. Talk about torture! Now if I can just decide what my next step-up in a Whaler should be... Thanks for keepin' us dreamin' (even if we are a bit frustrated!) Have a Whaler Day! Steve
Arch Autenreith posted 03-03-2001 02:26 PM ET (US)
Thanks, Maverick. Sounds like a good place to start. Just got my Mapsource Waterway and Lights CD and see that location.
Arch
jimh posted 03-04-2001 09:37 AM ET (US)
If you are around Ft. Myers and without a boat, there is a decent rental place south of Ft. Myers Beach along the Estero Beach drive.
It is several miles down the road. I am not sure but it might be "Gulf Winds Marina."
They are a Grady-White dealer and rent a variety of GW's, but they have a Whaler or two available as well.
We tried to rent a 15-Whaler from them a couple of years ago, but the engine on it would not run. After 45 minutes of frustration, they gave us a 19-foot Grady for the same price. We cruised around for 4 hours and saw the sights. It was great to get out on the water in a small boat down there.
In Ft. Lauderdale the Whaler dealer, Lauderdale Marine, has a very nice 26-Outrage with twin Merc 225 Optimax's available for daily charter.
--jimh
Barry posted 03-04-2001 02:24 PM ET (US)
It has been a long time since I was down there but I believe I rented a Montauk from the same place.
Gep posted 03-11-2001 02:08 PM ET (US)
Wished I would have known all this last weekend as we were vacationing dowm in Ft. Meyers. Did get to go out in a 27' Grady-White though. Maybe next year.
mattr posted 03-11-2001 05:49 PM ET (US)
Jim -
The wife and I are heading to Ft. Myers on Wednesday to catch up with the inlaws...we have tickets to two red sox games - yankees and twins. Anyway, I was thinking of trying to rent a small boat for an afternoon, so I will try to find the place you mentioned. I may try to call ahead of time to find out more about $ and time...and of course, try to nail down a whaler (grady's are really nice, but if I have a choice... :)
Thanks for the heads up!
mattr
Shadowcatcher posted 03-12-2001 12:29 PM ET (US)
We have dragged our Outrage from Colorado to that area twice now -- we really love cruising the area between Fort Meyers and Sarasota.
When in the area we always stop by Villers Seafood Market at the fishing fleet docks in Ft. Meyers. Love pulling that Whaler in with the trawlers to pick up a load of Stone Crab Claws...
kingfish posted 03-12-2001 03:02 PM ET (US)
...pretty good shrimp at Viller's, too...(sometimes it's pretty hard to crawl around the pilings and planks and stuff if someone else is already tied off, though)

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Author	Topic: A Plethora of Whalers, Sanibel Island area
maverick	posted 03-03-2001 07:06 AM ET (US) Left South Carolina and motored down to Sanibel Is (Florida) area yesterday so I could get a quality sunburn. Whaler was doing great, hanging on Davits where I left it in December. Got it wet and headed out towards the lighthouse and tons of Whalers, everywhere. More than any other boat. Saw maybe 20 in 3 hours of buzzing around - 1 Dauntless, 1 new ~14' Rage, and almost all Montauks and 13s. Older ones with new power. Lots of Yammies. Coming in second were Grady Whites. Great day on the water, lots of sunshine, the old 85 18.6 a joy to run. Pass the aloe, though. Ouch. Maverick on loan to Sunshine State
kingfish	posted 03-03-2001 07:35 AM ET (US) You go, Maverick!! Glad everything is working great (and am envious - still 4 weeks minus 1 day and counting before we head for Savannah). Hang a dollar on the wall for me if you run down to Cabbage Key. And if you hook a stingray fishing under the causeway, don't bring it in the boat with you. Older but wiser- Kingfish
Arch Autenreith	posted 03-03-2001 09:36 AM ET (US) Maverick. Nice post. I have a little longer to wait than Kingfish tho. I have to wait 'til school's out for the kids. Then I'll be hooking the ol' Montauk up and driving to Ft. Myers/Sanibel area from Pittsburgh for the summer. Lots of fishing, of course. Can you pass along a couple secret fishing waypoints for a fellow Whaler owner?:) If not, how about just some that are well-known. Will be my first time there not having to be a landlubber to fish. Arch
jimh	posted 03-03-2001 10:08 AM ET (US) We just got back from a week in Florida, including Ft. Myers (where we were bound to the land) and Ft. Lauderdale (where we spend four days on the Intracoastal). To judge by the boats we saw, you would think that Boston Whaler had a 40% market share. They were everywhere! Perhaps due to the lure of all that ocean out there, the boats we saw tended to all have dual outboards hanging on transom brackets. And the dual engines all had Phantom Black cowlings--Mercury outnumbered everything else ten to one. Maybe next winter we should have a Rendezvous down there about this time?
Dan	posted 03-03-2001 10:24 AM ET (US) I'm headed to Sanibel 4/14-4/21 for vacation with wife and kids. Anyone else planning on being there at this time? Unfortunately we're flying down from NY and I'll be Whalerless -- boo-hoo! It will be torture Whale-watching the parade of Whalers from landside. On the plus side, 4 days after we get back from Sanibel, weather conditions providing, I plan on getting my own 17 Outrage out of storage. In 1992 I paid $75, along with one other person from Michigan, for 4-hours of Tarpon fishing on a private charter. (A great price) As soon as we put the bait in the water, 8 rods in total, I told the captain that my pole felt light, as though the line was just floating -- sure enough I had a Tarpon. Almost two-hours later (I guess I'm not that strong) I managed to get a 160lb Tarpon alongside the boat for release. We tried for another without success.
maverick	posted 03-03-2001 12:49 PM ET (US) Ahh, the secret fishing spots @Sanibel. Well, Redfish Pass is probably the best I know of, go to the side of it on the North Captiva beach, there's a hole there that's good. And if you get bored, motor out the Pass and hang a right down the beach; I think Heather Locklear's house is the third one. Hah! Binocs don't work too good though in the rough surf. Can be a treacherous spot; my nephew tried to beach his 17 Montauk there and got hammered - swamped the boat, he jumped out and managed to get it turned into the waves (he's a big, strappin' fella). Hopped in boat, knee deep plus, cranked up Yammy 90 and gave it the gas. Chugged, he said, water poured out the back, and he bailed with a 5 gallon bucket until he could pull the plug. Woulda liked to have a video of that one. Maybe Heather has one, heh heh. Lucky, and he agreed, he was in a Whaler. Period. He said he know understands why I hammered on him to get as his First boat, the Unsinkable Legend. So much for "fishing". I believe he was "trolling". Best, Maverick
trouthunter2	posted 03-03-2001 12:51 PM ET (US) All right - do you have ANY idea what you all are doing to those of us here in Minnesota who are unable to venture out to Florida?! I must agree with Dan - if we can make it to FL - we would be Whalerless. Talk about torture! Now if I can just decide what my next step-up in a Whaler should be... Thanks for keepin' us dreamin' (even if we are a bit frustrated!) Have a Whaler Day! Steve
Arch Autenreith	posted 03-03-2001 02:26 PM ET (US) Thanks, Maverick. Sounds like a good place to start. Just got my Mapsource Waterway and Lights CD and see that location. Arch
jimh	posted 03-04-2001 09:37 AM ET (US) If you are around Ft. Myers and without a boat, there is a decent rental place south of Ft. Myers Beach along the Estero Beach drive. It is several miles down the road. I am not sure but it might be "Gulf Winds Marina." They are a Grady-White dealer and rent a variety of GW's, but they have a Whaler or two available as well. We tried to rent a 15-Whaler from them a couple of years ago, but the engine on it would not run. After 45 minutes of frustration, they gave us a 19-foot Grady for the same price. We cruised around for 4 hours and saw the sights. It was great to get out on the water in a small boat down there. In Ft. Lauderdale the Whaler dealer, Lauderdale Marine, has a very nice 26-Outrage with twin Merc 225 Optimax's available for daily charter. --jimh
Barry	posted 03-04-2001 02:24 PM ET (US) It has been a long time since I was down there but I believe I rented a Montauk from the same place.
Gep	posted 03-11-2001 02:08 PM ET (US) Wished I would have known all this last weekend as we were vacationing dowm in Ft. Meyers. Did get to go out in a 27' Grady-White though. Maybe next year.
mattr	posted 03-11-2001 05:49 PM ET (US) Jim - The wife and I are heading to Ft. Myers on Wednesday to catch up with the inlaws...we have tickets to two red sox games - yankees and twins. Anyway, I was thinking of trying to rent a small boat for an afternoon, so I will try to find the place you mentioned. I may try to call ahead of time to find out more about $ and time...and of course, try to nail down a whaler (grady's are really nice, but if I have a choice... :) Thanks for the heads up! mattr
Shadowcatcher	posted 03-12-2001 12:29 PM ET (US) We have dragged our Outrage from Colorado to that area twice now -- we really love cruising the area between Fort Meyers and Sarasota. When in the area we always stop by Villers Seafood Market at the fishing fleet docks in Ft. Meyers. Love pulling that Whaler in with the trawlers to pick up a load of Stone Crab Claws...
kingfish	posted 03-12-2001 03:02 PM ET (US) ...pretty good shrimp at Viller's, too...(sometimes it's pretty hard to crawl around the pilings and planks and stuff if someone else is already tied off, though)