Ft. Myers - Offshore

Capt. Rick Featherstone
January 6, 2005
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

Winter Patters / Hot Fishing

Greetings,

Thanks to everyone that read these reports over 2004, I thank you personally. 2004 was one for the record books in many ways. This was the best year on record for Magic Hook. Even with the storms, and the loss of a boat for a month we still ran over 250 trips. Can you imagine that we had not encountered a hurricane for forty years, and then four show up in one season! I will say that the effort to help people and get Southwest Florida back in the game fast was truly amazing. Many thanks to Mark and Marjorie Combs for lending me their beautiful Venture 34 for two months while we waited for our SeaVee to be finished. Speaking of our new vessel, it is my dream come true. Fast, and very fishy. We did a great shoot for Southwest Florida Outdoors TV show this fall that was fun. Team Gottim’ On had a storybook year. As our two families got together to have some fun, we fished division eleven in the SKA series. When the dust settled we were in ninth place and qualified for the SKA National Championships in Biloxi Mississippi in November. Up there competing against 375 other boats we finished in sixteenth position, and won the Calcutta for big fish on the second day. What a year in deed.

So on to our current fishing report:

Our winter pattern is in full swing now. With water temperatures in the mid sixty’s and regular cold fronts passing through our winter fishing is solid. Its this time of year that we focus on numbers of fish most days rather than our summer glamour species.

Inshore on and around the artificial reef system you can find quality gag grouper on days the water quality is good. Typically that will be two days after a front passage and up to the day of the next front. Sheepshead is also starting to show as well as a few bull redfish.

Offshore the most action is centered on ledges and Swiss cheese hard bottom. Gag grouper, red grouper, lane snapper, mangrove snapper, and some yellowtails are in full force. On the shorter days up to six hours we are still catching between fifty and one hundred fish. Limits of snapper are common with a grouper or two for good luck tossed in. On the longer days five or six keeper grouper are common, but the runs are longer.

Goliath are still here and willing to play the game. We released a few over Christmas that pushed three hundred pounds.

So the weather is pretty good and our fishing is very good right now for the reef fish. This would be a great time to slip away and get out and enjoy a beautiful winter day here in Southwest Florida and catch LOTS of fish.

Take care and thanks again,

Bow em’ Up,

Capt. Rick Featherstone

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