Southwest Florida rains bring cooler water, better bite
Capt. Rob Modys
August 8, 2014
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
Hot, wet weather has been the norm for the past week and that led to dodging rain and storms. Things are pretty quiet on the water, boat traffic wise, so we've been taking advantage of the lull and some close in reef spots as well as back country holes.
We had a good week with some decent catches, but until the recent rains, the bite was off a bit. The storms cooled the water down some and that, combined with the new moon tides, helped the bite turn the corner.
The upper areas of Estero Bay are producing a nice mixed bag of fish with snook, redfish, mangrove snapper and schools of ladyfish biting well. Most are close to the mangrove islands and shorelines. The nearer you can cast a bait the more likely you'll get a hit. Live shrimp has been the go-to along with live pinfish. A few schools of jacks are also in the area, so keep your eyes open for them. They'll be busting bait near the surface. Move to them and approach as quietly as possible. We've had good luck getting their attention with live shrimp under popping corks.
The passes are holding mangrove snapper, seatrout, silver trout and whiting. Best bet is to work live shrimp on jigs close to the bottom.
The spanish mackerel have returned to the nearshore reefs. We've been free lining shrimp and getting quite a few in the 3 pound range. There are also pompano and some big seatrout nearby. Keep an eye out for the occasional tripletail to wanner through. We've seen several over the past week. Might want to reel your catch in a bit more quickly than usual. There are some big barracuda hanging out by the reefs and they love helping themselves to your catch.
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