Redfish bite best in the early morning on live and cut bait
Capt. Rob Modys
August 12, 2015
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
As the hot weather bores down us the fish tend to move to cooler haunts. Early in the morning they can be found hanging out on the open flats looking for schooling bait fish and working in schools of mullet. As the sun rises they will push toward the shade of the mangrove islands and shorelines. The afternoon rains provide a nice flush of cool water that outflows from our many creeks and small rivers. That's a great place to wet a line in the late afternoon after the storms have passed.
Capt. Jon Fetter of Catching The Cure Charters noted that tough tides this past week made the fishing a little more difficult for anglers. You can still get it done but anglers will have to work a little harder for the bite. The redfish seemed to be hanging close to the oyster bars and mangroves during higher water. Free lined pinfish on 2/0 circle hooks or shrimp under popping corks both worked well. Chumming with cut bait and shrimp seemed to help get things going when times were slow. Snook fishing proved troublesome but there were a few around the floating docks and mangrove overhangs just inside the passes. Again, free lined pins seemed to be the ticket. There were a few surprise jacks cruising these areas too. Mangrove snapper are plentiful around the oyster bars and any structure associated with nearby mangroves. Live shrimp on lead head jig heads worked well. Be sure to downsize your hooks and leader to increase your chances for a hookup with these tasty fish.
Capt. Alex Dolinski of Spot On Charters said that despite the slower outgoing tides this week he and his anglers have managed to find a few hungry fish. Redfish and snook have been schooling up around the oyster bars and deeper mangrove edges just outside the Estero River. Pinfish, cut mullet and live shrimp on a 3/0 circle hook have all worked well. He's also been finding a few seatrout on the earlier morning incoming tides in the passes. Set up a drift and then drop shrimp on a 1/8 ounce jig down through the current. In the back country, near the mangrove shorelines, mangrove snapper and a few sheepshead are eating well around the blowdowns. Best results were gotten from shrimp on a 1/0 circle hook with a small spit shot of lead, slowly worked along the bottom.
Capt. Greg Stamper of Snook Stamp Charters said that fishing was good this week just as long as you started early. Middle of the day heat was tougher but it did produce on a couple of his trips. Redfish continued to be the best bet and cut baits worked well. Snook got a little lazy this week and sometimes picked up the cut baits that were meant for the reds. Most of the snook caught on the live bait where under the 27 inch mark, however his anglers did hook a few studs that ended up either breaking off or throwing the hook. The low mid-afternoon tides had schools of snook laying up in deep holes just off the flats. They would eat even during the midday heat as long as you floated a bait through them from as far away as you could be. If the red or snook fishing drops off, seatrout are around and can be caught on swim baits, small top water lures and of course live baits. Just keep switching up on the offerings for success.
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