Fort Myers inshore saltwater and bass fishing report

Capt. Scott Hughes
February 21, 2011
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

The unusually warm weather the last couple of weeks has really changed the flats fishing. The fish think that spring has arrived. I personally don't like a early spring because it confuses the fish which in turn confuses the fishermen.

The redfishing was unreal after the last cold front with the larger redfish moving in on the flats. We caught bunches of redfish up to 10 pounds for three days. As the water started to warms up, the speckled trout bite turned on and we caught trout up to 24 inches for the rest of the week. The only problem with the trout bite was that as the water got warmer the smaller trout became so agressive that we weren't able to catch as many redfish.

With the warm weather and excellent fishing came lots of boat traffic and I used last Friday to get away form the flats and get in another bass fishing trip on Lake Okeechobee. The good weather and reports of the record breaking weights in the previous weeks tournament had just as much boat traffic on the lake as it was on the flats. The fishing was still good but we didn't put of the kind of weights that a did the trip before. We caught just over 60 bass throwing Zoom Super Flukes but unlike the trip before we only had a handfull the were over 3 pounds an nothing over 4 pounds.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

The fishing is in between winter and spring but without the baitfish. Look for redfish to be schools but they are moving around and trying to find a happy spot to settle into. The speckled trout fishing will be good for the rest of the spring and the bass fishing will be good for numbers with a big bass always a possibility.

I have already seen a few tarpon in the area but its nothing that I would target. If we continue to have mild weather they could move in early and we could be catching them by April.

Target Species:

redfish, speckled trout, bass

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