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Southwest Florida Fishing Report - Bonita Springs to Captiva
Capt. John GiddyUp-Bunch
August 2, 2007
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
Many bombs have been dropped on me by those who sneak a peek at my "pathetic attempts" to write a "decent" fishing report. First of all, my assumption when writing Cyber Angler reports is as follows. Readers and fellow anglers want accuracy not fantasy. If you want fantasy, please don't give my reports any of your valueable time. Make a 900 call, join a fantasy football league, or go watch certain TV Fishing Shows.
Pine Island Sound was on fire July 31, 2007. A large barometric pressure gradient (A Low Pressure repaced a High Pressure and always remember this. From High to Low, LOOK OUT BELOW! Works in Fishing and Aviation). Fish were almost diving in our boat. It was a surreal experience. My charter customers (who did not know a spinning reel is held under the rod) ran the freaking table. Tarpon on an "Electric Chicken!" Redfish. Trout. Spanish macks were sailing about like Columbus sailing the ocean sea (how do U like that one? If you vote pathetic, I agree). Jacks. Big Jacks. Small Jacks.
So, remembering how much fun my charter customers had on Tuesday, I went out by myself yesterday. It totally sucked.
It was a Rosie O'Donnell Day. So, there you have it. Angelina Jolie on Tuesday and Rosie O'Donnell on Wed.
On the day it was like Angelina, Pine Island Sound had 2 foot waves, white caps, and 25Kt winds (+ Light Rain). In other words, a wild and willy scene.
Trichodesmium persists throughout our area. This is normally the pre-cursor to Red Tide. OK, before you go off and accuse me of having a bad attitude and reports of gloom, the Marine Biologist so assert not me. Just for kicks and giggles plus to validate my reports, I offer you the report from the Naples News (see date and Title). My promise to you is this. GiddyUp will not deal in fantasy fishing. And if you don't like me, I dare you to have a beer with me. Make that a Double Dare! Trust me, you will love me.
Fishing: Weather’s hot, fishing’s not
By John Preeg
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
If you haven’t noticed, it’s hot outside. I was supposed to fish on three different afternoons last week, and I canceled them all because it was too hot. That is a bit unusual for me.
My children suggested that it was because I was getting old, and I used the current, universal excuse for everything and blamed it on global warming, but whatever the reason, it is darned hot, and neither the fish nor the fishermen are enjoying it.
There has been some good fishing early in the morning, but the backwater action slows about 8:30, and by 10, it can shut down altogether. Normally, good fishing resumes after the afternoon storms, but this year, the afternoon storms are all in the morning, if that is possible. To sum it up, the backwater fishing is fair at best, and sometimes poor.
Offshore, the fishing is less affected by the daily heat, and the recent rains have cooled the water slightly. I have not had good reports from the bottom fishermen who have been hunting for grouper or snapper, but a friend of mine went out and told me that he got on a wreck last Friday, and he caught so many permit that he got bored and moved to go snapper fishing.
I told him that if he goes again this week to give me a call, and, this time, I am going. Sometimes it is worth taking the heat.
NAPLES: Capt. Tom Shadley of the Mangrove Outfitters said that he has been catching some fish, but it all takes place very early in the morning. By 10 a.m., the day is over. Shadley has been fly fishing using small Deceiver flies, and suggests that you use the smallest fly that you can cast. Small snook and snapper are the most common catch.
The waters on the outside have been rough and dirty, and even the inside bays are churned up a bit, so sightfishing has been difficult. There has also been a full moon so the fish tend to feed at night, and this has also had a negative effect on the fishing. Shadley hopes that next week the wind will shift back around to the east, and the fishing will improve.
MARCO ISLAND/TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS: Capt. Stacy Mullendore reported that it has been fairly typical late July fishing, which means plenty of snapper, and a fair number of snook, redfish and small tarpon. The snook fishing, however, has slowed down this past week. Mullendore said it may be because of the lack of bait along the beaches, or possibly the fish are moving back out after the spawn, but whatever the reason, there are fewer snook now then there were a few weeks ago.
Redfish have been scattered, but there are some around, and there are baby tarpon in the 10- to 15-pound range in the backcountry.
Bait still remains a problem. There are small baits along the beach, but the larger baits that had been offshore are gone.
EVERGLADES CITY: There has been some good snook fishing south of Everglades City. Bait has been scarce in other areas, but some large pilchards have shown up on the near shore wrecks, and anglers have been bringing them back in and using them for snook. The baits have actually been too large for the redfish, but they are ideal for big snook.
The outside waters are still clear south of Everglades City, and the storms have not been as prevalent as they have been in the Naples area. Still, there has been some fierce lightning, and fishermen have had to dodge the storms in order to catch fish.
WIGGINS PASS/NORTH NAPLES: Capt. Larry Regienczuk fished twice in Estero Bay and once offshore out of Wiggins Pass last week, and said none of the days were that good. The backwater fishing was slow. It was extremely hot, and some fish were caught in the morning, but the afternoons were poor. Regienczuk said that he averaged eight or nine small snook per day plus a few ladyfish and jacks.
Regienczuk went out into 90 feet of water on Friday, and although conditions were ideal, and he did manage to catch a few legal red grouper and a four-pound snapper, the action was not good.
FRESHWATER: If you enjoy freshwater fishing, you should get out on the water during the next few weeks, according to Jess Edwards of the Golden Gate Tackle Box. Edwards said that the water has just started to run over the weirs, and this increased flow has oxygenated the water, and the fish are much more active. Big snook and bass are being caught at the bottom of the weirs wherever the water is running. Live shiners or frog imitation lures are working the best.
Panfishing has not been as good as it was. Some bluegills are still being caught on their beds using worms, but, in general, the action is not as good as it was.
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