Fort Myers to Marco back bays and Gulf, all productive
Capt. Rob Modys
July 11, 2014
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
The 4th of July Weekend is behind us and now things get even quieter on the water here in southwest Florida. It's a real good time to wet a line or just spend some time at the beach... alone. As a matter of fact, walking the beach with a rod in hand would be a good idea. The snook are spawning along the shorelines and will take lots of different artificial offerings, including flies.
On a recent nearshore trip we took advantage of the recent gag grouper season opening, but only scored on short ones. The minimum length is 22 inches and we rounded up a lot of 19 and 20's. There was no problem getting them to eat. Cut mullet, squid and blue runners all worked well, as did live shrimp in some locations.
The red grouper bite was top notch in both count and size. I fished with friend and fellow Captain, Kevin Bellington, out of Marco Island in about 60 feet of water. We landed 15 of them with 5 in the box. The largest was 12 pounds. Cut bait was the way to go and on this trip they were loving frozen mullet and blue runners.
The nearshore Gulf waters off of Lovers Key is teaming with spanish mackerel. Just find the birds and you've found the macs. On the rock piles in about 20 feet of water, the pompano and seatrout are plentiful. It shouldn't take long to get your limit. Two anglers recently maxed out on pompano in about an hour.
The inshore waters of Estero Bay have heated up, both literally and fishing wise. The redfish are eating at the top of the high tide and are pushed way back up under the bushes. You'll have to make some good cast to get them to bite. Live shrimp has been working best and we've been using corks to let the current and the breeze take the bait to the fish.
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