Local amateur fishermen return to the water after Jan.

Fort Myers Beach, Florida. As life begins to return to normal in the wake of Hurricane Ian, more people are looking for recreation on the water.

But when they dig up their rod and reel and think about heading to their favorite spot, they may have to find a new one after a hurricane destroyed piers and closed coastal parks.

“Honestly, it was just a big buzz,” said Kane Stakhura, a recreational fisherman from Naples.

Like many of us, Stahura remembers what we all saw and felt during Hurricane Ian.

“A lot of storm [surge]. There are a lot of cars on the road,” Stakhura said.

Instead of constantly rebuilding, the need for rest is critical as many anglers return there.

But fishing on our barrier islands is characterized by debris and changed water conditions.

“I mean there, in the water, there is a car,” Stahura said.

Machine, still in the water months after Yen. This massive tide of water not only filled the area with debris, but also changed the underwater ecosystem.

“Watercourses, passes and stuff, all the sandbars are moving,” Stakhura said. “And all the curves of the oysters were torn. So it’s just a bunch of new ecosystems for fish.”

But even as the underwater environment changes, Stakhura believes the fishing should be pretty good as anglers figure out how to get around underwater obstacles.

“It will be hard for them to understand, but once they do, I feel like the fishing will be much better. In my opinion, it’s just more structure in the water,” Stakhura said.

And for those who don’t catch a lot of fish, fish like to use structures in the water to hide from other predators and ambush their prey, creating great fishing spots. But like several anglers we spoke to off-camera Thursday, the new hurricane debris could snag the line and make fishing much more difficult.