Fort Myers Inshore Fishing Heating Up

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I know that most of you are freezing so I thought I would give you a good reason to get on the next plane and head south for a few days. Spring is starting to kick in here in FL and the inshore fish are reacting to the longer days. When I post a report my goal is to give you the 411 on presentation techniques and lures used that were the most productive for my clients. The last thing you want to read is how they many of this or that they caught. There is nothing wrong with that kind of post, you just won't see it from me.

Snook
The Snook are waking up and getting active in the afternoons. The last two days there have been schools of 24"-27" snook actively chasing schools of bait in the back country creeks and rivers. Water temps are in the high 60's and the Snook will be heading out to Estero Bay and the other bays along the SW Florida Coast in the near future. There are a couple of baits that have been outproducing everything else. The first is a 1/4 oz spoon like a Johnson silver minnow, the best retrieve is a slow steady retrieve with frequent pauses to let it flutter for a second or two. The Snook are hitting it on the drop every time, and they are really busting it. We have had 3 decent Fort Myers Fishing Charters in a row despite the fact that cold fronts came thru today (2-15) and on 2-13 with wind and rain on the 13th and just a bunch of wind today. The second bait has been Top Puppy or a Spook Jr. They seem to want a slow steady retrieve with very little fast side to side action, slow and fairly straight wins the race.


Tarpon
Our local resident Tarpon have been pretty tough to catch this winter despite that fact that we have had a warmer than normal winter. I guess the same environmental factors are getting them moving as well. Yesterday produced a Tarpon of 34" and we got a 33" fish today. These are not giants by any stretch of the imagination, but they are the most fun tarpon to catch. They never stop jumping and you can land them in a hurry. Both of the Tarpon hit the same silver spoon which makes sense because they were chasing the same bait schools that the Snook were. They were an accidental result of the Snook bite but I'll take them every day.

If you are looking to catch a big Tarpon on light tackle or your fly rod then remember that they will be here in good numbers by the first of April and provide consistent action until late September. All the good local guides book up early since the season is short and most people book several days so they have a chance of bringing a couple of big fish to the boat. More to come as conditions change and warrant an update.

Good Fishing!
Capt. Eric Anderson