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Marco Island, Ft. Myers & Boca Grande
Capt. Scott Hughes
January 19, 2001
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
"Mixed Bag"
The past nine days have been warmer than the average temperature for January. The two weeks after Christmas was colder than the average temperature. These wide fluctuations in temperature have confused the fish and anglers. While it was cold we were doing great in the deep backcountry on redfish, snook and sheephead. When you found the fish there were dozens of fish in each hole. Now that the temperatures are warm the fish have scattered to shallower water. The fishing last week was slower than the previous two weeks but our numbers were still good. We just had to work harder for the fish that we caught.
With the sun warming the flats, I found literally hundreds of snook sunning themselves in 6-12 inches of water. These snook were from 20 inches to over 15-pounds. They were very spooky so an extremely long cast was necessary to get the fish to eat. Freelined shrimp caught the largest of the fish that hooked up but flies will produce as well. Look for sandy bottom around mangroves with less than 12 inches of water in the Pine Island area. In the 10,000 Island look for dark bottom with the same amount of water.
Redfish are still in the creeks around Sanibel Island. We didn’t pick up as many as the previous two weeks but we caught 3-4 nice sized ones on most of my full-day charters last week. My half-day charters didn’t fair as well on the reds because we had to fish a lot of water to find them. The redfish hit ¼ ounce jigs tipped with a whole shrimp. Marco Island has had scattered amount of reds working the shoals of Cape Romano. Live sardines and shrimp is your best bet to get them.
Sheephead are getting more concentrated in Pine Island Sound. We are still picking up over 20 good-sized fish on full-day charters. Most sheephead run under 2-pounds but on every trip we catch a few that push 4-5 pounds and that number will go up with each full moon until April. We use a ¼ ounce lead head tipped with a whole shrimp to catch the sheephead. Creeks with a good current and a hard bottom are the best places to look. The passes will get better as the full moon of February gets closer.
Other species that have been included in the “mixed bag” of species are speckled trout, snapper, ladyfish, croakers, silver trout, flounder, and sailor’s choice. The trout have been very unpredictable. We have caught a few on the flats in about 4-5 feet of water but the traditional flats haven’t produced the numbers that I am used to this time of year. The more reliable places have been open bays in the backcountry. All the other species have been caught with the jigs tipped with fresh shrimp. Most of them were caught while we were trying to catch the redfish.
The forecast for this week is another cold front that will pass through this weekend. That should move most of the fish back into the creeks to more sheltered water. Also a good spot to try for hard pulling jacks is the outflow of the Orange River power plant. Troll plugs or get live pinfish and wait for the drag to sing. A tarpon also isn’t out of the question either. But don’t hold your breath.
Good Luck!
Capt. Scott Hughes
Blackwater Charters
863-946-9171
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 I specialize in light tackle saltwater, and fly fishing from the backcountry of the 10,000 Islands to flats of Pine Island Sound and the bay system of Charlotte Harbor. I have pick-up locations out of Ft Myers, Marco Island, Pine Island, Punta Gorda and Boca Grande. I like to target big fish. During warm months, tarpon, sharks, snook, redfish, cobia, king mackerel and big jacks are the main species sought after. Most of the winter months are devoted to redfish, trout, snook and grouper. Whether
Contact Info:
Blackwater Charters
12571 Burnt Store Rd
Punta Gorda, FL 33955
Phone: 941-575-2389
Alt. Phone: 941-628-4247
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