-
Ohio angler Craig Swanson punched goliath grouper off his bucket list with this dandy, caught and released with A&B Charters Capt. Jim Rinckey on the All In. -
Roxy Morgan’s spring break felt like work when this smoker king mackerel hit her freelined frozen threadfin, on her All In trip to 80 feet of water off Naples with A&B Charters Capt. Kees VanDerAa. -
David De Leon’s 25-inch redfish hit his shrimp Sunday in Rookery Bay at 4:30. -
Byron Stout’s juvie snook was caught in the Stanley A. Moore Memorial Tournament for disabled veterans, sponsored by Fish With A Hero. The fly fishing tournament will remain open through March 30. -
Minnesota angler Carol Horozaniek’s spotted seatrout was one of four caught and released on shrimp near Estero Bay’s Mound Key, on her Get Hooked Charter with Capt. Matt DeAngelis. -
James Kempniers and Ben Webster used live scaled sardines to catch this redfish double Wednesday near Estero Bay’s Coon Key, on their Get Hooked Charter. -
Bob Mignogna was fly fishing from the beach at Big Hickory Island when he caught and released this snook, Monday morning. -
Bob Mignogna’s pal, Paul Dickensheets, got one too. They were casting white and chartreuse flies on the incoming tide. -
The belly on Nick Palumbo’s big bass, caught with Roland Martin Marina Capt. Mike Balon, shows the spawn’s still on on the Big O. -
Braydon Reiner’s sheepshead was one of 12 he and his granddad, Paul Trost, caught Tuesday in New Pass with Capt. Dave Hoffman (left). -
Ivey Gilmore’s sheepshead was one of 10 caught last Sunday on his family’s Fishbuster Charter in Estero Bay with Capt. Dave Hanson. -
And Waller Gilmore added this sheepie to the tally, on his fam’s Fishbuster adventure. -
William Gilmore added this 15-incher to the family creel. -
Joe Feldman’s 18-inch permit was a locally rare inshore catch, made in southern Estero Bay on hisTuesday Fishbuster Charter. -
Mike Connealy’s 22-incher was largest of 25 red grouper he and family caught on squid and cut bait, 36 miles off New Pass on their Wednesday Fishbuster Charter. -
Paul Connealy’s 14-inch yellowtail snapper was one of two caught on his family Fishbuster trip. -
Rodney Bromm’s seven-foot sandbar shark was one of three, to eigh t feet, his family released Wednesday on their Fishbuster adventure. -
Wednesday’s red tide sampling map shows Lee County waters remain red tide central. Gray not present; White very low concentration; Yellow low; Orange medium.
It’s official when northbound tarpon and king mackerel migrate into Southwest Florida waters: spring has sprung.
Offshore anglers have connected with kings of all sizes, as far north as Boca Grande, and bottom fishing has been good when winds allow.
– EMAIL YOUR PICS TO BYRON STOUT
Inshore action on snook, redfish and trout has been good, and some nice sheepshead continue to bite as their winter run winds down.
As we head toward Sunday’s full moon, big bass still are spawning on the Big O, and crappie also have biting well. Maybe that moon will turn Lake Trafford’s specks back on.
OFFSHORE: A&B Charters Capt. Jim Rinckey sent in some nice shots from outings to depths of 80 feet on the All In. Spring breaker Roxy Morgan scored with a smoker kingfish that hit on a dead thread herring freelined off the stern, and Cincinnati angler Craig Swanson punched goliath grouper off his bucket list.
Mike and Paul Connealy and Rodney Bromm got great workouts with three sandbar sharks from seven to eight feet, 25 red grouper including a 22-inch keeper, two yellowtail snapper, 20 grunts, and three porgies boated on their Wednesday Fishbuster Charter, 36 miles out of New Pass with Capt. Dave Hanson.
King Fisher offshore trips to depths around 65 feet off Boca Grande Pass tallied a couple of schoolie kings Monday and nine Wednesday while freelining live baits caught on site. Bottom fishing has averaged two keeper red grouper per trip, lots of lane snapper, and handfuls of porgies and grunts.
NAPLES: David De Leon used a free-lined shrimp to get the attention of a 25-inch redfish released Sunday at 4:30 in Rookery Bay.
ESTERO BAY: Rick Mercer sent in the sheepshead of the week, caught by his wife, Char, Monday on a live shrimp in New Pass.
Capt. Dave Hoffman took Coloradans Brayden Reiner and his granddad, Paul Trost, to a catch of 12 sheepshead, three small gag grouper, two snapper, and a 17-inch trout on a half-day in New Pass. Shrimp did the heavy lifting, but the trout hit on a white paddletail jig.
Bob Mignogna and Paul Dickensheets used white-and-chartreuse flies to score with juvie snook from the beach at Big Hickory Island, where they reported “many hits throughout the morning” Monday.
Get Hooked Charter Capt. Matt DeAngelis reports game fish and baitfish are on the move in Estero Bay, where focusing on windy island points has been the key to lots of hookups. He posted shots of Minnesota angler Carol Horozaniek with one of four trout released at Mound Key on Sunday, and James Kempniers and Ben Webster with a redfish double-header that started with live scaled sardines Monday at Coon Key.
Capt. Hanson reports three Fishbuster trips to the bay’s south end, where Ivey, Laurie, William, and Waller Gilmore used live shrimp to catch four keepers among 10 sheepshead, plus a crevalle jack last Thursday morning. Pals Wally Callan, Pete, Dan, and Mike also caught 10 sheepshead to 14 inches, plus three sailcats (gafftopsail catfish) on Monday morning. And Joe and Luke Feldman tallied 14 sheepshead and an 18-inch permit on an all-release trip Tuesday morning.
SANIBEL: Norm Zeigler’s Fly, Bait & Tackle in Periwinkle Way reports the invasion of mature tarpon has begun, and “snook numbers on both Gulfside and backside beaches are exploding as the linesides abandon bayous, creeks, inlets, and other winter haunts.” Fly, lure, and live bait anglers all have reported scoring on snook, and Spanish mackerel, trout, and jacks also have been reported in large numbers from Wildlife Drive (closed Fridays) in the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Blind Pass, Bailey Beach, Tarpon Bay, and Gulf shorelines from Middle Gulf Drive to Bowman’s Beach.
PINE ISLAND: Strong winds, weak currents, and lingering red tides didn’t help, but St. James City Capt. George “Artificials Only” Grosselfinger guided Byron Stout to four snook to 20-1/2 inches that all chased down a white Seaducer Friday afternoon on southeastern Pine Island Sound shorelines. Those fish were targeted for entry in the Stanley A. Moore Memorial Tournament for disabled veterans, sponsored by Fish With A Hero. The fly fishing tournament for snook, redfish, trout, and bluegills will remain open through March 30. Capt. Grosselfinger took the following two-tide days off but reported hooking “a monster” snook Thursday morning.
CHARLOTTE HARBOR: King Fisher bay boat charters out of Fishermen’s Village in Punta Gorda report nice sheepshead still biting at the Charlotte Harbor Reef, where Spanish mackerel have been good one day and gone the next. Nearby flats have been good for trout, ladyfish and bonnethead sharks, plus a dozen pompano spread over three trips in the past week.
FRESHWATER
LAKE TRAFFORD: Lake Trafford Marina reports the lake’s normally great crappie fishery has been so slow, very few anglers have even been trying. And those that have tried haven’t caught more than three.
LAKE OKEECHOBEE: Roland Martin Marina Capt. Mike Balon reports warming waters and Sunday’s full moon bode well for “big stringers this weekend.” The biggest and most bass will fall for wild shiners fished around the lake’s southwest quadrant, from Observation Shoal to South Bay. That’s how Minnesotan Nick Palumbo scored his new personal best. Which is not to say artificials won’t be effective in clearer inside waters, where pitching soft plastics into holes in eelgrass patches, or throwing swimbaits or frogs won’t be hot.
Brad Lytle of Roland Martin Marine Center reports crappie are biting well on the West Wall, in Uncle Joe’s (Mayaca) Cut, and in the Rim Canal around South Bay, with minnows doing the most damage. Bluegills might get started bedding this weekend.
PIC OF THE WEEK
Sometimes it’s the size of the smile, not the fish, that makes for a great shot. Paul Dickensheets took this one of Bob Mignogna.
FISH TIP
Offshore anglers almost invariably target bottom fish including groupers, snappers and porgies that are hard to beat as table fare. But for a ferocious fight, there’s not much that beats a king mackerel’s blazing runs and sometimes skyrocketing strikes. The key to catching kings is to fish higher in the water column, where this one hit on a frozen thread herring freelined in the current. Live baits, caught on site by dropping to the bottom with Sabiki baitfish rigs, are even better, with live blue runners topping that list. Fished right on the surface under a balloon, or suspended from a kite rig fires up the kings even more.
HOT SPOTS
No. 1: Charlotte Harbor Reef for sheepshead and Spanish mackerel.
No. 2: Pine Island Sound shorelines for catch-and-release snook and trout.
No. 3: Wildlife Drive for sheepshead from shore.
No. 4: Estero Bay for redfish and trout.
No. 5: New Pass for sheepshead.
No. 6: Offshore for grouper and king mackerel.
No. 7: Lake Trafford for specks on the full moon (maybe).
LAKE OKEECHOBEE
No. 1: Observation Shoal to South Bay for bass.
No. 2: Uncle Joe’s Cut, the West Wall and the Rim Canal for crappie.
Credit: Source link
