The fishing’s good where there’s no red tide, and the red tide sampling map is showing improvement as well.
– EMAIL YOUR PICS TO BYRON STOUT
OFFSHORE: A&B Charters Capt. Jim Rinckey reports great success in depths of 75 to 80 feet, west and southwest of Naples, where anglers have brought in African pompano, mutton snapper, and big king mackerel in addition to the usual bottom fishing suspects, including red grouper and porgies.
Fishbuster Charters Capt. Dave Hanson reports Bob Eckle and his sons fished several nearshore spots Monday, from four to eight miles west of New Pass, where they boxed a dozen grunts and released three red grouper, one gag and a flounder, all undersize.
King Fisher Capt. John Baines ran four charters to depths around 65 feet off Boca Grande Pass over the past week, averaging two keeper red grouper, nice boxes of lane snapper and porgies, and two or three bonito (little tunny) per trip. Catches also have included lots of gag grouper to 23 inches, but none of the minimum 24-inch keeper size, as well as releases of two hammerhead sharks of about six feet on one trip.
ESTERO BAY: Capt. Dave Hoffman reports “the trout fishing has never been better” in Estero Bay, where he and pal Joe Savoca used paddletail jigs to catch and release eight near Mound Key, late Monday morning. He also reports Savoca caught 17 trout one-day last week.
Wednesday’s inshore Fishbuster trip with Henry, Mark, and Tammy Duitsman was good for five sheepshead to 17 inches and a 19-inch redfish release. On Tuesday, also in southern Estero Bay, Joe Garretson and Andrea Schaubschlager released 13 undersize sheepshead and caught a 17-inch pompano on their Fishbuster trip.
SANIBEL: Red tide in the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge killed mostly mullet and baitfish, but baby tarpon still were biting along Wildlife Drive (closed Fridays), according to Norm Zeigler’s Fly, Bait & Tackle. Blind Pass, at the north end of the island, was reported full of fish including snook, redfish, trout, mackerel, sheepshead, and pompano. And in San Carlos Bay on the flats off the Sanibel Causeway’s toll booths, anglers have been catching trout.
CAPE CORAL: Ritch Blasi reports fishing was really slow on two trips in the canals of the southwest Cape, where the waters were clear but too cold for the fish to bite.
PINE ISLAND: St. James City Capt. George Grosselfinger reports very good fishing on both sides of the island. On Monday, starting at Sword Point and working the eastern shorelines of Matlacha Pass, he caught and released 19 snook to 31 inches. And on Tuesday afternoon, also while casting paddletail jigs, he caught a 23-inch trout and 11 snook, including two 28-inchers and two 29s, in the Mason Key area of Pine Island Sound.
Bob Brooks also reports good fly fishing for redfish around Pine Island, where “Pete Squibb’s Squgly has ’em eating.” He’s been fishing incoming tides, between recent cold fronts.
CHARLOTTE HARBOR: King Fisher bay boat captains report sheepshead biting on shrimp at the Charlotte Harbor Reef, where the Jeff Love party from southern California caught four 2-pounders and one 5-pound whopper with Capt. Brad Batz. Nice size trout also have been biting in the canals of Punta Gorda Isles, where they’ve retreated from the cold grass flats.
FRESHWATER
LAKE TRAFFORD: The crappie fishing’s on fire in the Immokalee lake. Grundy Falwell has been catching his limit daily this week, and Cody McClellan guided his party of three anglers to their limits on Tuesday. Anglers fishing from the Ann Olesky Park Pier also have been doing well on specks, according to Lake Trafford Marina.
LAKE OKEECHOBEE: The recent cold snap slowed the bass bite on the Big O, but it started back on by Wednesday, according to Roland Martin Marina Capt. Gary Sapp. He guided Maine angler Colby Currier to a 7.16-pounder among “solid numbers” while fishing wild shiners along the hard line of reeds in Boy Scout Cut. Crappie anglers also have been scoring limits within hours of dunking minnows or jigs in Turner’s Cove and the West Wall.
PIC OF THE WEEK
A&B Capt. Bobby Nagaj was happy to show off Chicago angler Will Laughlin’s beautiful mutton snapper.
FISH TIP
Capt. Dave Hoffman’s trout was one of eight he and Joe Savoca caught while casting paddletail jigs Monday in Estero Bay. Jigs are great winter baits not only for trout, but snook, redfish, pompano, mackerel, and other striking fish. That’s what Capt. George Grosselfinger used to catch and release 30 snook on Monday and Tuesday outings around Pine Island. The plastic tails come in lots of shapes and no end of colors, but deciding which combination to use is not a problem. They all work!
HOT SPOTS
No. 1: Charlotte Harbor Reef for sheepshead.
No. 2: Pine Island shorelines for snook.
No. 3: Blind Pass for a little of everything.
No. 4: Toll Booth Flats for trout.
No. 5: Estero Bay for trout and sheepshead.
No. 6: Offshore for grouper and snappers.
No. 7: Lake Trafford for crappie.
LAKE OKEECHOBEE
No. 1: Turner’s Cove for crappie.
No. 2: West Wall for crappie.
No. 3: Boy Scout Cut for bass.
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