Springtime Snook and Redfish Action in Naples Backwaters
Capt. Todd Geroy
March 25, 2012
Naples - Saltwater Fishing Report
March 25, 2012
Another busy week of 10 half day trips back to back! While we had some great ones, I wouldn't be honest without saying that it was probably the most challenging overall in quite some time. Very strong tides (extreme high) along with some stiff southerly winds from mid-week until the weekend made us really work for results on a couple of outings. Even the best trips didn't come easy.
We did find the snook pretty cooperative throughout the week, with some really nice fish caught on live bait ranging up to 13 lbs. I found snook schooled up near Little Marco Pass as well as throughout the backwaters in Rookery and Johnson Bay. Naples Bay also has loads of active snook right now, but heavy boat traffic has been hard to deal with. Mike and Jill Dyer put a hurtin' on a few early in the week. Here's Mike with a nice one…
One of my long time anglers, Bob Messey caught and released this snook after a lengthy battle through an entanglement of flooded mangroves…
Although not really schooled up, there are still some very nice trout in the backcountry channels and are taking live pilchards freelined in the current. Chumming with live baits seem to get them going. The trout we caught last week were in the 18 to 23 inch range. Here is yours truly with 7-year-old Tanner Noethling. Neither us us could be more thrilled over his trout catch!…
Redfish were caught through the week with the afternoon high tides bringing the best action. Super high tides later in the week made casting challenging, but those who could get baits under the flooded cover caught some nice slot sized reds. Dan Masservey and son-in-law Robert caught several beauties on Friday afternoon along with plenty of snook.
Tarpon are here, although I still have not invested much time for a hookup. Along with the tarpon, there are plenty of big sharks such as bull, lemon and blacktips. Catching these bruisers right now is just a matter of commitment.
- Capt, Todd Geroy
Target Species:
Snook, Redfish, Sea Trout
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