Ft. Myers - Offshore
Capt. Rick Featherstone
January 15, 2002
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cold Weather
Greetings;
Well the weather has sure played a factor in our fishing lately. With the onset of several cold nights our water temps have dropped off sharply. With those cold fronts came some pretty stiff wind to deal with also. Some folks stayed home during this time but a few felt they would rather spend the day on the water than in the hotel so off we went!
Most of my time has been spent inshore working canals, rivers, passes, and grass flats. Shrimp and crabs have been my bait of choice for these adventures. Even on the worst days we found many places out of the wind that not only were comfortable places to fish, but productive as well. I did not get picky with species, I just fished for what ever would bite and we had a blast. Using slow, deep, presentations in the mornings brought us sheepshead, black drum, silver trout, and even a few reds and snook. Later in the day I would switch to jigs and popping corks. Here we caught speckled trout, silver trout, redfish, whiting, and others.
On one occasion I took a customer out in his canoe of all things. Guess what we found way back in Estero bay up in a little lagoon? Tarpon! Not the baby version we find in winter either. The big This angler nearly freaked when fish from four to six feet started rolling all around us. He was armed with a six pound spinning outfit and a five weight fly rod. Not exactly giant tarpon gear but we were expecting Jacks, Trout, Silver Trout, and Black Drum. If we got really lucky maybe a snook, redfish or baby tarpon. Well after the initial shock we went to work casting. After maybe a hundred casts he got a strike and big boil on the clouser. I got one jump from a fifty pounder on a Terrorize. For ninety minutes we lost ourselves in laughter, complaining, and just plain admiring these great fish. Its one thing to go after them from my center console offshore, and quite another in the confines of a backwater creek from a boat that turns over very easy!
Offshore on odd day we could get out I stayed within fifteen miles and manages some good grouper action with reds and lane snapper.
The Goliath grouper are still around the structures if you like frustration on light tackle.
Remember that old saying "match the hatch" and you should do pretty good out there. Just bait up with something small and slow.
Good luck,
Capt. Rick Featherstone
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