Southwest Florida Fishing Report - Bonita Springs to Captiva

Capt. John GiddyUp-Bunch
April 21, 2004
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

The Bite is on! GiddyUp

The wind has been less than 10KTS and the fishing has turned on like a sprinkler system. It seems as though everything is on the bite.

King Mackerel have been traveling from South to North in 42-44FT of water directly off Big Carlos Pass. On my day off I went "to play" in this area and saw Permit, King Mackerel, and a few Tarpon. I've just located a crab invested sandbar and I cannot wait to become a regular to this area. About 2 weeks ago during a lull in the wind I marked my King Mackerel catches on my Lowrance GPS and the general area is a nesting area for shrimp boats. If you see the "GiddyUp" boat out in this area please feel free to ask me for some hot numbers and key things to look for.

Tarpon have shown up in good numbers off Ft. Myers Beach. I have been dragging some Stretch 8 Mann's Lures as I hunt. They have been busting the big blue/yellow lure (but they spit it immediately) and I circle back to chum them up. Pretty cool way to hunt.

Snook: Big Snook have arrived on the beaches. Big Carlos Pass is holding some big fish and the outgoing tide rocks. Try the area of beach at the south end and the beach at the very north end. The faster the tide rips the better.

Trout: Big Trout are all over Estero Bay grass flats and oyster bars. The area near "Need More Point" is really producing nice Trout and Redfish.

Tarpon is the focus right now BUT when I have my next day or two off I cannot wait to give the Permit a try. Nothing is sweeter than locating these freight trains by complete accident and some very unusual circumstances. Semper Fidelis. JB

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