Big Bull Redfish In The Gulf Near Fort Myers Beach
Capt. Rob Modys
September 20, 2011
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
A more normal weather pattern settled in on the area this past week and it looks like we are going to get back to "rainy season" soon. The showers help quite a bit with cooling the water down and that makes for a better bite. Gag grouper just reopened on September 16th and you only have a 2 month opening, so you better get out there and get it done!
The nearshore Gulf of Mexico bite had been great with calm winds and good tides. Big trout, pompano, mangrove snapper and grouper are on the rock piles, along with schools of spanish mackerel and bluefish. We've been using cut threadfin herring and ladyfish as the go-to baits with live shrimp for the trout and pomps.
Schools of bull redfish are starting to show in good numbers in about 20 to 30 feet of water and they are a ton of fun to catch. Almost all of them are above slot trophies, so take a quick photo and get them back in the water as soon as you can. The biggest so far was a 35 pounder caught on cut ladyfish.
Redfish are the ticket in the backcountry. Either side of the top of the tide is the best time to go after them with live shrimp on jigs or under popping corks. We've also been throwing cut bait and cut pinfish their way but the shrimp seems to work best.
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