Palm Island, Englewood and Boca Grande Fishing Reports

Well fishing followers… It’s my first report since hurricanes Helene and Milton. Yes, two storms in succession ravaged our area of Manasota Key, Englewood Beach, Palm Island, and Don Pedro Island. 

We are still in recovery mode. As most you know, both our areas of operation were severely damaged by storm surge. Our Palm Island/Don Pedro clients with elevated residence, got whacked with sand and estimated 5′-6′ of water under their homes. Any enclosed structures under the homes were destroyed. All pools and equipment were filled with water and sand/much or washed away. But, it’s the amount of debris in the waterways around the island that will take the most time to remediate. 

Manasota Key and Englewood Beach got the same treatment. The difference was, there is more population density, and a higher percentage of ground based units under FEMA flood elevation. These ground based homes were destroyed. Some, with severe structural damage and the inability to rebuild. This area has the longest road back in recovery. 

So, “we” a collective of fishing guides have been helping during this recovery process where we can. Weather it’s moving sand to the beach, hauling trash to the curb, doing flood cuts and demolition on the units. Wherever we can be of service, we are going. We are operating under our “Banyan Breeze Builders” LLC that was started after hurricane Ian in 2022.

The outlook for timeline as I see it is this. It’s possible by March, that we will have boats running. The reality is, business is going to be slow until the units dedicated to our travel clientele come back online. That timeline will be on a individual owners basis and could take years to make whole again. So for fishing guides that rely on visitors and travel income, next season will be a tough one. 

Capt. Mike Slattery
941-626-6946
www.palmislandoutfitters.com
www.charlotteharborchronicles.com