Ft. Myers - Offshore

Capt. Rick Featherstone
April 23, 2006
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

Spring Fling In Full Swing!

Greetings,

These are the fun reports to write for sure. What’s even more fun is the variety of fish in our area right now. The spring bait run is in full swing. Our water quality is excellent. That combination has been producing one of the best spring fishing seasons in recent history.

Near shore fishing is amazing. King mackerel, Little Tunny, Spanish mackerel, Snook, Tarpon, and Sharks are all in the area and being caught every day. We have been trolling Rapala X-Rap Slash Baits to catch kingfish from five to thirty pounds. Working the artificial reefs that is holding large quantities of bait from one to five miles is the key. Within this zone the mixture of fish working the same bait school makes for some great visuals and great fishing. Casting Slash Baits into a boiling froth of bait is producing a Spanish mackerel, or a Tarpon, or a Black Tip most days. We did target tarpon a few times using Pogies and Threadfin. We caught three this week. Big sharks are here as well. Using Little Tunny and Spanish mackerel and Blue Runners in twenty feet of water near the tarpon schools we released Lemon, Black Tip, Bull, and Hammer Head sharks one afternoon.

Further offshore from five to twenty five miles the King Fishing remains very good. Permit are in the area as well as larger Little Tunny up to fifteen pounds. Big cudas, Black Fin Tuna, Amberjack, and Yellow Tail Snapper are all on the hit list. We have been loading up our live well with Scaled Sardines then heading out for big structure. If the wreck or reef is holding bait we anchor up then deploy Capt. Mark Block chum. That is enhanced with a steady stream of live baits pitched in a few at a time. Our twelve-pound rigs have sixty-pound fluorocarbon and 5/0 Circle hooks tied with loop knots. These are free lined out back with scaled sardine or blue crab bait attached. At the same time we are casting Slash Baits, and we have out kite out with Blue Runners under it. Most days we never have to move from that spot. Permit, Kingfish, Little Tunny, Cudas, and Spanish keep us in the game as long as our chum lasts.

Take Care and have fun.

Sincerely,

Capt. Rick Featherstone

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