Ft. Myers - Offshore

Capt. Rick Featherstone
June 3, 2002
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

Offshore Heats UP!

Greetings;

Well things sure changed this week. The high wind of last week was replaced with perfect Chamber of Commerce weather every single day. You could not pick better weather for the offshore fishing that we have enjoyed lately.

Backwater fishing has picked up as well. The snook fishing along the beach snags and in the passes has been steady with live bait producing most of the larger fish, but deceiver and whistler flies are working. Good sized jacks are busting bait also around the docks and bridges. Jigs cover the water column, and bring solid hookups. There is fair trout action on the grass flats as well. I like the Terrorize, white with a red head behind a popping cork.

Inshore reef and wreck fishing is good but some patience is required. With the calm seas, lots of anglers are out and about within the first five miles. Early morning or late afternoon is best if you don't like crowds. Nice fish are there though. Snook are starting to stack up on some of the structures, as well as some terrific spanish mackerel. Macks up to seven pounds are making drags heat up. Mid day action has centered around the "mud's", areas of dirty water from twenty to thirty feet deep. Sharks of all sizes and tarpon have been hanging in them. There have been cobia and permit on some of the heavy structures, but as mentioned above if you want to have a good chance of hooking and landing one, go at the off hours. If you put a few more miles behind you, and make the shore line hazy, ten or fifteen miles, there is great grouper and snapper action. Not many keeper sized grouper, but nonstop action for family's and kids of all ages. There are a few wrecks out in that area also that are holding permit and cudas. Use dollar sized crabs for the permit, and tube lures for the cudas for some nice light tackle action. If you like vein popping mussel bulging yelling and screaming action, use eighty pound line, and cable leader with a blue runner or de-spined catfish for that Goliath Grouper (jewfish), it seems they are on every wreck now. Be sure to release them, they are protected.

Offshore has seen very clear water, lots of bait, and good fishing if you work at it. I ran out twice this week from twenty to forty miles. We caught some really nice fish, but none came easy. Cudas to thirty pounds using Yozuri Mag Minnows with the lip busted off worked great, when live bait was refused. We lost a couple of cudas that were over forty pounds also. Permit were thin in numbers, and skittish. Lots of divers have been out, so the permit may be reacting to the pressure. We did go five for six on permit last Thursday fifteen miles off Fort Myers Beach using yellow and white jigs tipped with shrimp. We also landed a thirty five pound cobia on a threadfin. There was acres of bait over the ledge areas thirty two miles out. Huge thread herring, cigar minnows, and flying fish were being busted up by predator fish. We managed to hook and land a forty five pound smoker king mackerel on twelve pound spinning gear. I spotted two sailfish and one of my buddies came in with eight peanut dolphin fish which tells me there is some nice loop current water here right now.

Take care and have fun, keep aware of possible thunder storms.

Sincerely,

Capt. Rick Featherstone

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