 |
Marco Island, Ft. Myers & Boca Grande
Capt. Scott Hughes
April 24, 2003
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
Lot's of big fish!
It's spring and that means big fish. We have been catching king mackerel, snook, redfish, grouper and jewfish the past two weeks. The one thing that I haven't been catching is tarpon. I have only caught two tarpon all month. Normally I'm averaging 3-5 100-pounders per day for April. It's been a very strange year so far.
Snook have been the main target species and the fishing for them has been excellent. We have been using live sardines and fishing the outer islands of the upper 10,000 Islands. Most days, we are averaging between 12-20 snook up to 12-pounds. There seems to be a lot more slot size fish this year however, we haven't caught any snook over 20-pounds yet this month.
Redfish almost stole the spotlight last week with catches of 19,44, and 18 on Wednseday though Friday. Most of the reds were over the 27-inch maximum size. We caught them schooling on the flats. Those were some of the best days I have ever had fishing for redfish in the 10,000 islands which is not known for great numbers and size of redfish.
Lots of big trout are spawning in the passes south of Naples. Most of the fish are 18-23 inches and hitting sardines while we are targeting snook.
I ran one offshore trip this week and we did really well on grouper in 55 ft of water. Most were 18-20 inches but we managed a few larger and a couple were quite large and kicked our butts. We also got into the kings while drifting sardines on flat lines. The kings were running 14-20 pounds.
Jack crevelle, bluefish, spanish mackerel and jewfish have been keeping the lines tight between snook and redfish. All in all, the fishing has been more than I can ask for. Even with the absence of the tarpon.
The forecast for the next few weeks is good. I heard just a few minutes ago that some good schools of tarpon have moved into Pine Island Sound. I don't have any catching reposts yet because I received a call from a buddy of mine while I was writing this report. The snook fishing will get better throughout the summer although after April 31st they have to be released.
Good Luck!
Capt. Scott Hughes
Blackwater Charters
941-628-4247 cell
941-575-2389 home
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
 |
 |
|
 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
Email the Captain
Visit his Web Site
Display Find-a-Guide Listing
|
|
|
|
|
|
