Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Fall Fishing Top Notch
Capt. Rob Modys
September 22, 2010
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fall is in the air! Cooler morning temperatures and lower humidity greeted anglers this past week and the fish responded to the change as well. There were lots of reports of great catches along with sightings of dolphins, manatees and bald eagles. Time to get out and enjoy the backcountry of southwest Florida and all it has to offer. The beaches are covered up in a mixed bag of bait fish. It only takes a throw or two of the cast net to get all you need for a day's fishing. All though snook fishing is closed until next year, we've been catching and releasing lots of them in all sizes, including some big ones in the back of Estero Bay. It seems they have started their migration from the beaches to the the mangrove bushes in the backcountry. Redfish were also plentiful and biting well on both live shiners and shrimp. They are schooled up on skinny water grass flats and near potholes and will eat just about anything thrown their way. Trout can be found on just about every grass flat with more than half of them in the slot. They are taking both artificials and live bait under popping corks as well as a mix of flies like clousers, deceivers and muddlers. The passes still hold quite a few nice sized mangrove snapper on the bottom and a lot of spanish mackerel and ladyfish on top. Just look for the diving birds and cast in the area. Last, but certainly not least, tarpon are making their Fall migration down the coast. They've been in close enough to the beaches that anglers on foot have a shot a them all along Sanibel Island.
SoulMate Charters provides back country and near shore spin and fly fishing charters in the Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva areas. Both advanced and novice anglers are welcome. Capt. Rob Modys has been fishing S.W. Florida for over 45 years and is on Bass Pro Shops Pro Staff and is the host of Reel Talk Radio on ESPN 770 AM in Fort Myers.
