November 20 fishing report from Byron Stout

Beautiful days have been producing beautiful fish, including red grouper, mixed snappers, king and Spanish mackerel, and all of the usual inshore suspects. During lots of wind, not so much.

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OFFSHORE: Saturday was pretty enough for Blind Date Charter Capt. Tom Katz to go prospecting south of his normal grounds, to 87 feet of water 21 miles west-southwest of Marco Island, where he got into a “monster mangrove snapper bite,” while chumming with live sardines. Between snappers, he also released juvenile red and gag groupers.

Mike Connealy and longtime friend Capt. Dave Hanson of Fishbuster Charters boxed a dozen lane snapper and another dozen grunts while releasing three 17-inch mutton snapper and a dozen undersize red grouper Monday, 30 miles west of New Pass.

Lehr’s Economy Tackle reports several offshore outings over the weekend, starting with Dave Brown, Brian Weiss and Mike Hawlsey catching their limits of red grouper to 28 inches, plus mangrove and lane snappers on pinfish, squid and sardines on Saturday and Sunday. They fished depths of 97 to 105 feet of water out of Redfish Pass.

On Sunday Rob Naylor of Bokeelia and Robert Keller of Cape Coral used live thread herrings and squid and 80 feet of water out of Boca Grande Pass to box four red grouper averaging 25 inches, some nice mangrove and lane snappers and one 15-pound king mackerel. On their way in the ran into “a huge school of Spanish mackerel and some kings” in 42 feet of water, eight miles off the pass. They caught Spanish on small shrimp, and another 15-pound king on a threadfin.

Also Sunday, Chase Conley and his fiancee, Lisa Mann, of North Fort Myers, caught their limits of red grouper, mangs, lanes and assorted other fish on squid, shrimp, frozen sardines and live pinfish and scaled sardines they caught at the Sanibel Causeway, en route to 67-foot depths off Sanibel.

COLLIER COUNTY: Bill Schirmer sent in shots of friends Tom and Mary Ann Dineen with nice redfish and snook they caught on live thread herrings during Monday’s afternoon high tide in Upper Johnson Bay, near Marco Island, where snook, reds, and trout are legal to keep under current regulations. They were fishing with Capt. Chris McCubbin.

ESTERO BAY: Get Hooked Charters Capt. Matt DeAngelis sent in Texan Charon Sheplear’s picture with a dandy pompano, one of seven she caught near Big Carlos Pass on shrimp-tipped chartreuse jigs. That was Saturday before winds dirtied the inshore waters.

Capt. Dave Hoffman and pal Joe Savoca fished Wednesday’s windy low tide near New Pass with artificial baits and caught three slot-size trout, two sub-slot redfish, and three ladyfish, while adding a 10-inch snapper with a freelined shrimp.

SANIBEL: Norm Zeigler’s Fly, Bait & Tackle on Periwinkle Way reports fly fishers are having great luck on trout while throwing black-and-red or green-and-red Clouser Minnows at the west end of Bowman’s Beach, a good hike from the Bowman’s parking area. The trout have been easier to access on the Sanibel Causeway’s Toll Booth Flat, where there also have been redfish.

Snook have been biting in fairly good numbers under docks along Sanibel’s back side shorelines, as well as in Blind Pass, but the snook are running small, and the best news from Blind Pass is the growing number of sheepshead. Anglers fishing from Wildlife Drive (closed Fridays) in the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge report schoolie snook and lots of baby tarpon, early and late in the day.

CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER: Fort Myers Shores angler Justin Crilly has been fishing the Wilson Pigott (SR 31) Bridge and the downtown Fort Myers bridges with lots of success on snook. On one evening before the recent front blew through he fished the Fort Myers end of the Caloosahatchee Bridge and caught a dozen snook with half going 10 or more pounds, lost two tarpon, and also hooked a big black drum in a mere two hours of casting Hogy Pro Tail swimbaits, according to Lehr’s.

PINE ISLAND: St. James City Capt. George Grosselfinger reports releasing snook of 30 inches or better every day since last Friday around Pine Island Sound’s MacKeever Keys. Most have been on topwater plugs, but two were on 1/8-ounce green swim jigs. He’s also been catching large jacks, and the occasional slot-size trout and redfish.

Earl Horecky sent in pics of pal Joel Buntin with a nice flounder caught Friday along the Pineland shoreline of the sound. They also caught redfish, snook, ladyfish and mangrove (gray) snapper, all on gold spoons.

Over in Matlacha Pass, Bokeelia angler David Kula had a great morning on trout in the Two Pines area at the northeast corner of the pass, where his Clouser Minnow was the candy. Wildfly Charters Capt. Gregg McKee said they also got into tailing redfish near Pineland, but didn’t manage to catch any before the breeze kicked up.

CHARLOTTE HARBOR: King Fisher Capt. Chris Gagnon’s Saturday morning trip to the point of Cape Haze produced so many trout of all sizes that he almost ran out of shrimp. His party also had fun with ladyfish and jacks.

FRESHWATER

LAKE TRAFFORD: Cooler weather has heated up the speck fishing on Lake Trafford, where anglers are having big times in boats and on the bank. Lake Trafford Marina reports Dale Coleman has been using minnows to catch limits of crappie off the pier and shorelines of Ann Olesky Park while adding as many as 20 bluegills to his creel with crickets. Ricky Kemp and his mom, of Felda and Immokalee, boated their limits of crappie Monday with minnows.

LAKE OKEECHOBEE: Fishing in a 15-boat Sherwin Williams corporate outing out of Roland Martin Resort and Marina, Phillip Peoples caught a 9.6-pound bass of a lifetime on the first cast of his lifetime. He was fishing a channel through Kissimmeegrass and baiting with a live wild shiner courtesy of Capt. Skip Simmonds.

Brad Lytle of Roland Martin Marine Center in Clewiston reports bass have been biting on inside grass lines in any direction you can point a boat. Swimbaits, speed worms, stick worms, topwater plugs, and spinnerbaits all have been working for bass. And minnows have been the go-to for crappie that have started biting well in the Taylor Creek and Harney Pond areas at the north end of the lake.

PIC OF THE WEEK

David Kula’s golden seatrout ran down a chartreuse-and-white Clouser Minnow Monday in the tannin-stained waters of Matlacha Pass, on his Wildfly Charter with Capt. Gregg McKee.

FISH TIP

Joel Buntin was being push-poled by Earl Horecky and casting a gold spoon when he got this nice flounder’s attention. Flounders are aggressive, but catching them on gold spoons would be a hard way to make a living. They’re ambush predators and don’t waste a lot of energy running down baits flashing by in the upper water column. A flounder rig that works as well as any is a leadhead jig, trailed on a short leader by a live natural bait like a shrimp or baitfish. The jig bumped along the bottom alerts the flounder, and the livie struggling along behind is too much to pass up.

HOT SPOTS

No. 1: Cape Haze for spotted seatrout.

No. 2: Eight miles out for king and Spanish mackerel.

No. 3: Sheepshead in Blind Pass.

No. 4: MacKeever Keys for snook.

No. 5: Caloosahatchee Bridges for snook.

No. 6: Pompano around Big Carlos Pass.

No. 7: Crappie and bluegill in Lake Trafford.

LAKE OKEECHOBEE

No. 1: Inside grass lines all around the lake for bass.

No. 2: Harney Pond area for crappie.

No. 3: Taylor Creek area for crappie.