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Ft. Myers - Offshore

Capt. Rick Featherstone
January 2, 2001
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

Winter Fishing

Greetings;

Well fishing fans, its been very interesting fishing around S.W. Florida lately. High winds, low tides, cold fronts, cold water, and the flu have tested my ability to find and catch quality fish. As I write this the seas offshore are running seven feet. I think when things settle down the grouper and snapper fishing should explode. The fronts cause the fish to migrate to new places. The cold water brings the grouper in closer. No one has been hammering them so all of your favorite haunts should be very productive.

During the Christmas week we canceled more charters than we ran. Some of the days I did get out turned out to be pretty nice. The natural rock formations just off the beach that run from Bonita Beach to Doctors Pass are holding a few gag grouper. Sheepshead are moving into that area also. The MAY reef area is producing smaller gag grouper, sheepshead, and a variety of snappers. The G-H and Wiggins five mile reefs are also producing sheepies, assorted snappers, & trigger fish. We also took a handful of the large bull redfish this week up to twenty four pounds on yellow jigs.

Along the beaches south of Wiggins Pass there has been a load of ladyfish. Mixed in with them are blacktip sharks. Shrimp or Lov's Lures are working well. For the sharks just chunk up a lady fish and let it lay on the bottom.

During the very cold days we fished the deeper channels and canals for trout and sheepies. We found the silver trout preferred a yellow buck tail jig & shrimp combo above all else when the water was dirty, white when clean. These same jigs produced speckled trout along the shallower edges where the bottom is dark and the water warmer.

Good Luck and stay warm.

Sincerely,

Capt. Rick Featherstone

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Light tackle deep sea fishing charters. Backcountry light tackle and fly. Naples, Ft. Myers, Sanibel. Family's, no experience necessary. Tarpon, Shark, Permit, Cuda, Goliath Grouper, Snook Redfish, Trout, and more. Three boats available, Corporate charters available. Fly fishing, plug, spin, and live bait. 4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours.

Contact Info:

Magic Hook Charters
2210 20th Ave NE
Naples, FL 34120
Phone: 239-455-0006
Alt. Phone: 239-821-6229
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