Ft. Myers - Offshore

Capt. Rick Featherstone
December 14, 2002
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

Big Red Is HERE!

Greetings;

In between some challenging weather we have had some really great fishing on our waters lately. Water temperatures have cooled into the high sixty's. As much as I hated to see the kingfish move south of our range, I was more than thrilled to find the bull redfish have moved in here. Many of our visiting anglers are familiar with the backwater reds that average three to five pounds and provide great fun. The bull redfish we find offshore average twenty pounds or more! When you find them they bite.

Inshore all of the rock piles, ledges, and reefs are holding sheepshead. The spots with the most relief are holding the largest fish. I have hit those spots early and late in the day, especially when the weather is marginal and had good action. Trigger fish and mangrove snapper are also on those spots in good numbers. Gag grouper are there, but getting out a keeper can be a challenge on light gear. I suggest putting out one stout bottom rig for just that purpose. When I target inshore grouper I much prefer either casting large lures over shallow structure. Gags are aggressive and will rise up several feet into the water column to bite. My other favorite method is trolling. You have a choice of one of the large lipped lures like the Mann Stretch series, or you can use a planer or downrigger. In water less than twenty feet I prefer the planer. My favorite lure is a feather and strip combination but only because its easy to rig and I can pull it in a lot of different situations.

This week we made two offshore adventures. On the first one we fished little tunny (false albacore) with flies. The weather was a bit sloppy so we stayed within ten miles. Working birds and chumming we hooked and landed several of these screamers on white and green clouser minnows. On our other trip we worked the reefs from fifteen to twenty miles out. Constant action on lane, mangrove, and yellowtail snapper kept us in fish steady. On one spot we had a blast with four huge bull redfish. Our first fish was thirty plus pounds! What a blast on our twelve pound line.

Have a great week and enjoy. Use any sloppy days to check your tackle and pre-rig your tackle so when that hot bite comes you are ready.

Sincerely,

Capt. Rick Featherstone

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