Welcome to fall in Southwest Florida. I'm writing this a few days before the season's official start, but I'm also sitting outside on a 75-degree morning in the 70% humidity with a slight east breeze, and there's not a drop of sweat on me.
Hard to believe that it's no longer punishing to be outdoors after breakfast. The forecast is for a lot more of this over the next few weeks and that's about as good as it can possibly get in this part of the Sunshine State.
The fishing this time of year is usually excellent, which I'll let my fellow writers cover in more detail this month. I'd like to talk about a couple of events that will be happening in November, and give a shout out to a great business that's been a huge part of my success as a guide for a long time.
The first event is the Pine Island Stone Crab & Music Festival on Sunday, the 9th. This is always a fun day on the island, held this year at the Winn Dixie Plaza (9940 Stringfellow Rd.) If you're new to the area and have never tried stone crab claws, get out there and fix that. They're caught seasonally from Oct. 15 to May 1 and are the most delicious piece of seafood on the planet. If I could arrange it, my last meal would be a large plate of stone crab claws and several Coronas.
Live music starts at 11AM and they've also set up a big tent with a couple projection TVs so you can watch the Dolphins get crushed by Buffalo. (Sorry Miami fans, but there's a lot more Bill's Mafia around here than you guys, so I have to say that.)
I'll have a tent out there with art vendors selling some of my local photography and I'll also be right next to my friends from Beavertail Skiffs from Bradenton, FL. If you've ever been out fishing with me, you know that I've been happily running their boats for almost 20 years.
My current ride is an 18-foot Beavertail Vengeance that I just had up at the factory for a much-needed overhaul. After 8 years and a couple hurricanes, my gelcoat was in rough shape from driving it through storm debris and even some use as a rescue boat. She now looks as new as the day I got her and I can't thank owners Harry and Ann Seibert enough for looking after me, just like they do for any customer.
This year, Beavertail is a sponsor of the Stone Crab Fest and they'll have their latest 2026 Vengeance Carbon Fiber Edition on display. This boat is lighter and faster than my 2018, and after seeing it for the first time I'm getting a huge case of Skiff Envy. Stop by and take a look, and you can also meet the Harry and Ann yourself. They'll be on hand all day to answer any of your questions and they usually have some great apparel for sale.
After the Stone Crab Fest, the Beavertail folks turn and burn across the Caloosahatchee River for the 53rd annual Ft. Myers Boat Show later that week, starting on Nov. 13. This is always big event for the area with everything from kayaks to multimillion-dollar yachts in the water. If you've lived here for a while you've probably been to this show before, and if not, the rebuilt waterfront is really worth seeing.
There's usually some good food available down there, too. In addition to the carbon fiber Vengeance, Beavertail will also have their newest design, the 16-foot Rival, on display. This is an ultra-shallow running platform built to go just about anywhere, especially at low tide. It's also selling at a very competitive price. The Rival takes up just one bay of a garage, so if you've got the room and need the ultimate tailing redfish hull, be sure to check it out. My Skiff Envy is really kicking in with this one.
So that's November in this part of Southwest Florida. There's lots to do both on and off the water this month, and you definitely can't beat the weather. I hope I see some of you at one of these events, and Happy Thanksgiving.
Capt. Gregg Mckee
Wildfly Fishing Charters
Matlacha, Florida
