Fort Myers Fishing Report - Fast Action Off The Passes
Capt. Eric Anderson
September 29, 2015
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
It's been a very long time since I posted a fishing report. Since January I have been primarily night fishing or early morning Tarpon fishing and honestly there's not a lot you can write about night fishing other than "we caught Snook and Tarpon on flies and lures near the lights". Early morning Tarpon fishing also suffers from the same problem, "We went out at first light, saw lots of tarpon, jumped a few and landed a couple" Again this is not great report content to read every few days.
Now that early fall is here I'm switching over to fishing days which lets me post information you can use to catch more fish in a variety of ways.
With that in mind, right now there is a great bite going on in the passes (Big Carlos, New Pass, Wiggins Pass, Gordon's pass). Last Friday my clients from Missouri had one of those memorable days on the water with big schools of fish busting the surface everywhere. The schools were a mixed bag of ladyfish, spanish macs, bluefish, jacks, and spec trout. They were casting 1/2 oz white bucktail jigs and retrieving them with a fast steady action. If you wanted to catch the spec trout you had to get your jig to the bottom and retrieve with a quick hop and drop action. The trick was not catching something else before the jig could get to the bottom. I make my bucktail jigs, they're economical and after the ladyfish and bluefish chew all the hair off you can re-tie with new bucktail and be good to go.
In addition to the fish mentioned above the Pompano have been plentiful all up and down the beaches just run your boat at a slow speed and watch your prop wash for the Pompano jumping and skipping behind the boat. Then turn around punch a waypoint on your chart plotter and start casting a jig to those pomps, it's great fun and even better eating. They are the only fish that I allow my clients to keep, they are plentiful and they aren't receiving the relentless pressure that redfish do.
There are still I large number of Tarpon around from Fort Myers beach south, and while you won't see them busting and chasing the way they do in the springtime they are there and biting. My favorite baits for these fall fish are rattletrap style lures in three-quarter ounce, and don't forget to throw top water any time of the day because the Tarpon have been hitting top water even in the middle of the day, the only problem with that is keeping everything else off the top water bait to give the Tarpon a chance.
First Saltwater Fish Club
I'm sure we all remember the first saltwater fish we caught regardless of size or species. Almost everyone has a great story about their first saltwater fish. I thought it would be nice to acknowledge clients with their first saltwater fish caught on spinning tackle or fly rod. Congratulations to these anglers and to the stories where the fish will no doubt get bigger as time passes.
Logan H with a number of first's - First Snook & First Fish On A Fly Rod! Nice Job Logan!
Good Fishing
Capt Eric Anderson
239-330-2427
[email protected]
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