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Chicagoan Joey Nault was all smiles after digging this nice red grouper out of 85 feet of water off Naples, with All In Capt. Jim Rinckey. -
Joanne Nault shows redheads can catch red grouper, too. That’s All In Capt. Jim Rinckey doing the heavy lifting. -
Chelsey Nault’s wrist hurt from cranking up this red grouper on her A&B Charter, but it looks like all is forgiven. -
Ritch Blasi reports the fish weren’t really numerous, but they were nice size while trolling southwest Cape Coral canals Sunday. -
That’s Deborah Blasi with an even bigger bruiser jack. Not shown, her 30- and 35-inch snook, all caught trolling soft swimbaits. -
Brad Miller’s 18-incher was one of three keeper sheepshead among 21 caught Tuesday on his Fishbuster Charter in southern Estero Bay. -
J.T. Obremski’s red grouper was one of two dozen his family caught and released Monday, 20 miles west of New Pass on their offshore Fishbuster Charter. -
Jim Moran sent in this shot of his wife, Tammy, and her suprising double-take of a ladyfish and jack that both wanted her Yo-Zuri Minnow in the worst way. They were casting off Pineland in Pine Island Sound. -
Capt. George Grosselfinger’s trout was one of four from 21 to 24 inches, plus 11 snook to 31 inches and three redfish caught on a super slamming Monday in eastern Pine Island Sound. -
Not many anglers can say they’ve caught a bass as long as their leg, but Nashville, Tenn. lad Jack Thompson is one. He was baiting with a wild shiner along a cattail line in the South Bay area with Roland Martin Marina Capt. Bo White.
Light winds predicted for the entire Thanksgiving weekend will give anglers access to fish of all stripes, offshore, inshore, and fresh water.
The run of offshore pelagics including king and Spanish mackerel is well underway throughout the area, with kings reported as close in two miles off the beach.
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Bay fishing for snook, trout, and redfish remains strong, with the winter run of sheepshead starting to show promise.
Freshwater fishing has been hampered by frontal winds, but that should all change this weekend as the full moon approaches.
OFFSHORE: All In Capt. Jim Rinckey of A&B Charters in Naples reports lots of red grouper and snappers coming out of 85 to 90 feet of water west of Gordon Pass on full day trips. And some keeper grouper and plenty of snappers have been biting on half-day bookings to 50 feet of water, with king and Spanish mackerel hitting trolled spoons within two miles of the beaches.
John and JT Obremski and John’s sister and brother-in-law kept very busy Monday as seas built 20 miles off New Pass ahead of this week’s front. They used squid to release two dozen red grouper to 19-1/2 inches, an 18-inch lesser amberjack, and a short flounder and cobia, while boxing half of their four dozen white grunts for a taco bonanza caught with Fishbuster Charters Capt. Dave Hanson.
Bob Brooks reports great fishing in 20 feet of water off Sanibel over the past week, where he used Umpqua Mushy patter flies to catch a brace of kings at 20 and 24 pounds, in addition to plenty of false albacore (little tunny).
ESTERO BAY: Get Hooked Charter Capt. Matt DeAngelis reports an inconsistent bite over the past few days in Estero Bay, where focusing on fast moving tides has been key to staying busy with spotted seatrout and pompano. A few redfish, snook, sheepshead and snapper also have been biting along the dropoffs along points at Big Carlos Pass and the Starvation Flats, where the go-to bait has been a Hook Up jig head tipped with a fresh piece of shrimp.
Brad Miller’s 18-inch sheepshead was one of three keepers among 21, plus a stingray and a nice snook that hit live shrimp in southern Estero Bay Tuesday morning with Bonita Beach Capt. Dave Hanson, of Fishbuster Charters.
CAPE CORAL: Ritch Blasi reports his wife, Deborah, had a great day Sunday, breaking in the custom rod he built for her. While trolling soft swimbaits in southwest Cape canals, where the water has cooled and levels have lowered recently, she released snook of 30 and 35 inches while also catching a dandy crevalle jack.
SANIBEL: Norm Zeigler’s Fly, Bait & Tackle notes those king mackerel and little tunny just a few miles off island beaches, with spotted seatrout biting along the west end of Bowman’s Beach, and in San Carlos Bay around the causeway islands and on the Toll Booth Flats along the causeway approach. Snook, redfish and baby tarpon have been biting along Wildlife Drive (closed Fridays) in the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, and the island’s back side docks are holding snook and sheepshead.
PINE ISLAND SOUND: Capt. George “Artificials Only” Grosselfinger reports a super slamming Monday along eastern Pine Island Sound shorelines from St. James City north to Rat Key. He released three snook to 31 inches, four trout from 21 to 24 inches, and three small redfish, with all but two fish hitting on topwater baits.
Ed Moran sent in a shot of his wife, Tammy, with a family first. She was casting a Yo-Zuri Minnow on the flats off Pineland when a ladyfish and a jack simultaneously found her bait too a-lure-ing.
CHARLOTTE HARBOR: Ten King Fisher bay boat trips out of Fishermen’s Village Marine in Punta Gorda produced a variety of fish, with the focus on Spanish mackerel that have shown up around the Charlotte Harbor Reef south of Mangrove Point. One trip also produced an undersize cobia while freelining shrimp at the reef for Spanish. Sheepshead have begun biting in modest numbers at the reef and in creek mouths; relatively small snook, redfish and snapper have been biting along northeastern shorelines; and catch-and-release trout fishing remains very good on northeastern flats south to Pirate Harbor.
FRESHWATER
LAKE TRAFFORD: The crappie bite fell off as the winds rose this week, but Lake Trafford guide Cody McClelland brought in 30 specks as the front approached on Monday. Since then anglers have been catching a few in the mornings, and doodly in the afternoons.
LAKE OKEECHOBEE: Winds have dirtied much of the lake, but the fishing has been very good in the Grassy Island area (also known as Halifax Bank) between Ritta and Torry Islands. Roland Martin Marina & Resort guide Capt. Bo White says the bite has been good on artificials including chatterbaits and speed worms in open water, or with creature baits flipped into heavier cover. The best cover has been cattails or joint grass (Kissimmeegrass) and if you find a mix you’re golden. Nothing, however, has been as hot as wild shiners, worth the $22/dozen investment if you’re trophy hunting. The back end of Pelican Bay also has been good, and there have been some bass biting in the Monkey Box area. Crappie have been biting well on minnows in the running water at the Moore Haven Lock, and White reported Capt. Jerry Ware ramped with 24 “slab” crappie after an experimental jig trip to Bird Island, at the north end of Observation Shoal.
PIC OF THE WEEK
Brad Miller’s 18-incher was one of three keeper sheepshead among 21 caught Tuesday on his Fishbuster Charter in southern Estero Bay.
FISH TIP
Bob Brooks loves to target offshore pelagics like this speedy king mackerel, or atomic powered “false albacore.” Catching either on fly is an accomplishment, and probably not the easiest way to get into the game. When pelagics are running, the first thing to do is find them. Once offshore, the key is to look for flocks of diving seabirds, or if close enough, free jumping mackerel, likely Spanish. Lacking surface action, trolling with spoons or deep-diving plugs along the clear side of tide lines also is effective. Once fish are located, it’s easier to keep the bite going by chumming, rather than following fast moving schools. Ground fish chum is effective, but for real excitement, there’s nothing like tossing live, crippled sardines off the transom. When the kings show up, maybe by skyrocketing with chummers in their jaws, that’s the time to start throwing flies (and don’t forget wire bite tippets).
HOT SPOTS
No. 1: Charlotte Harbor Reef for mackerel on top, sheepshead on the bottom.
No. 2: Eastern Pine Island Sound for snook, trout and redfish.
No. 3: Baby tarpon, snook and redfish in Ding Darling.
No. 4: Cape canals for snook and jacks.
No. 5: Big Carlos Pass for pompano.
No. 6: Offshore for king and Spanish mackerel.
No. 7: Lake Trafford for crappie.
LAKE OKEECHOBEE
No. 1: Bird Island for crappie on jigs.
No. 2: Moore Haven Lock for crappie on minnows.
No. 3: Grassy Island for bass.
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