Florida:
Gulf Coast

Tarpon Time

Tarpon leapt to the fore on the action front in localized areas throughout Southwest Florida, snook fishing continues to heat up as water temperatures arc toward the high 70s, and trout, redfish, Spanish mackerel and pompano have contributed to some impressive catches over the past week.

If there is a weakness in reports it has been offshore, where baitfish disappeared following the full moon, and apparently took the pelagic species with them. Bottom fishing also was middling offshore, but there was too much good stuff inside to worry much about fish that cost a sheik's ransom to get to, anyway.

Don't forget to send me your own reports, and until next week...

Go fish,

Byron Stout

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Florida's Gulf Regions

Boca Grande - Charlotte Harbor

Spanish mackerel have been almost too easy around Boca Grande Pass, either here or there in the pass itself, or along the bar north of the ship channel, where trolling a spoon quickly tells you where the fish are. After locating Spanish, which often are making such a ruckus on the surface you can see their splashes if they aren't footballing all over the place, casting with light tackle or fly will result in continued action. Active anglers can drift with schools or run and gun with the birds, or those with chum _ ground with menhaden oil, or livies _ can keep the fish right off the transom when anchored along the bar.

The fishing around Cape Haze point has been good for trout and pompano, and some cobia of keeper size (min. 33 inches) have been horning in on that action. Blustery weather has kept the water too riled to do much sight fishing for the cobia, but it's possible to blind cast with herring or shrimp imitations and stay busy with trout while hoping to ding a ling. Capt. Mike McComas reports fishing the north shore of Charlotte Harbor and catching four trout to 4 pounds and three snook to 8 pounds on a Rhett...s Special fly.

The best snook action reported in Charlotte Harbor has been from Matlacha Pass inland, on up the Peace River to above Harbor Heights, where linesides to 34 inches were taken this week on shiners.

Sanibel - Captiva - Ft. Myers

Cape Coral Capt. Rick DePaiva has been having some killer days on reds, including 16 to 30 inches, taken on a midwestern Pine Island Sound flat by Rick Bardowell and Richard Gunther of Hollywood, Florida. DePaiva has been starting his days casting leadheads around oyster bars in the mouth of the Caloosahatchee, where anglers have been getting trout to 25 inches, and ladyfish to use as cut bait for the redfish.

Lehr's Economy Tackle reports snook, redfish, ladyfish, jacks and grouper being taken on fly by George Close, who has been wading Bunche Beach with some of his own shrimp imitations that Dave Westra describes as Clouserlike, in tan or chartreuse and white. Close has been hooking, and losing grouper in rocks right off the end of John Morris Road, and he's been catching most of his flats fish while wading west of Black Run creek along the north shore of San Carlos Bay.

Jim Davis of Denver caught two snook to 10 pounds, three redfish to 11 pounds and several trout to 20 inches on chartreuse-and-white Clousers in northeast Pine Island Sound with Capt. Chris Rush.

Bonita Springs & Naples 

A report from Master Bait & Tackle tells of 27 snook to 38 inches and four tarpon to 44 inches caught on greenbacks in eastern Estero Bay by Tim and Bob Bogacz, and five snook to 26 inches, a 26-inch red and a 15-inch trout also caught on greenbacks by Terry Sinclair. Greenbacks can be caught around deep structure with Sabiki rigs, or you can make your own by tying Lefty's Deceivers with the classic green and peacock herl back. Peterson's Baby Bunker, Cowen's Herring, the Magna Herring, etc. also may be effective.

Those baits also are great at night under lighted docks around Naples Bay, where night snooking borders on religion. There is a great temptation around lighted docks to get close enough to see what might by lying right under the spotlight, but lots more bites will come to those who approach with great stealth and cast from as far as possible, working the edges of the light rather than the main spot.

Hooking snook is one thing, but landing them is another, inasmuch as no fish are as keen about wrapping up an angler in line-cutting barnacles. Having one angler cast while another is dedicated to the trolling motor is imperative, at the least, but anglers will get the most benefit from their no-stretch fly lines by anchoring or staking out before making a presentation.

Marco & 10,000 Islands - Chokoloskee

The Everglades Angler fly shop in Naples reports four laid-up tarpon jumped by a Capt. Matt Hoover client fishing Matt's 40, a wire-weedguarded fish imitation tied well back on the shank for minimal fouling and maximum undulation out of the maribou. Hoover has been fishing in Everglades National Park south of Goodland.

Closer to Marco, the action in the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Sanctuary has been very good for mostly small snook. The fishing has been very tight to the mangroves, and the best bait has been some form of woolhead mullet.

The best pompano fishing in memory continues in the passes around Marco, including Caxambas and Big Marco. The fish are as deep as 15 feet, where the bait of choice is a leadhead pompano jig (head at least 3/8-ounce to as heavy as 3/4, with dressing trimmed to the bend of the hook) tipped with shrimp. For those who have to fly-fish, Pete Quasius of Everglades Angler said some success has been had with sink-tip lines and Clouser Deep Minnows, with pink or yellow the colors of choice.

Send in those reports, and
Go fish, Byron Stout.