Snook Are Making a Comeback in the Naples / Marco Backwaters
Capt. Todd Geroy
April 30, 2011
Naples - Saltwater Fishing Report
Last weeks trips aboard my skiff, the Intowishin' were mainly targeting action fishing and my anglers were happy to find the snook cooperative as well as a few redfish and the ever present jack crevalle. We did not target tarpon last week with the exception of Friday although the tarpon are still everywhere.
I have been heading offshore in the dark each morning to near shore wrecks and structure to cast net multitudes of fresh, live sardines for the day. I am finding that by targeting the bait before sunrise, they are much more vulnerable venturing off the structure in the darkness before retreating to the cover as the sun comes up. Closer to shore, there doesn't seem to be as much of the choice sardines, but plenty of larger thread herring. The "threads" are more suited for big tarpon than casting in tight spots along the mangroves as we have been doing.
I fished once again with John and Nancy Poffenberger. The duo has proven to be on fire the last few trips. They didn't hold back on last weeks trip, releasing a multitude of snook to 29 inches as well as redfish to 26 ¾ inches!
I also spent two days out with Pat Thompson of Naples. On the first trip, Pat and his friend Mike boated plenty of snook as well as some slightly under slot schoolie redfish. On the second trip Friday, Pat was joined by his son Matt of Cocoa Beach.
As a mild front approached, we found the snook action to be spotty. They seemed to be very suspicious of us as we would seem to catch one first cast in every spot we stopped at before catching on to us and locking their lips. That's snook fishing sometimes.
Well, the two showed some interest in the possibility of hooking one of our big tarpon or perhaps some shark action to cap off the morning. We moved to an inshore bay near Marco where we had lots of tarpon and shark action last week. Fishing with chunk bait, we waited patiently for about a half hour only seeing one tarpon roll twice near the boat with no bites. A quick move into another spot in Rookery Bay and we were instantly greeted by several rolling tarpon around the boat. We were anticipating a quick bite and within a few minutes Pat's bait was picked up. He hooked into a nice lemon shark that pushed 175 to 200 pounds. While Pat was busy, Matt hooked a second for a double hookup. Matt's fish seemed even bigger and melted line off the spool before managing to bite through the leader. After a half hour Pat brought his shark boat side for some pictures and a release! What an exciting way to end a beautiful morning on the water with two very enjoyable guys! While I have not received the pictures of the shark yet from Pat, I do have a shot of Matt with a typical snook caught under the mangroves...
My clients and I have plans to target tarpon on several trips next week. We have had a few windy days the last few, making it a bit rough along the beach. It should settle down over the weekend giving us opportunities to chase the migrating schools on the outside. I'm looking forward to starting May with another week of good fishing.
- Capt. Todd Geroy
Naples Fishing Forecast:
May is here and tarpon fishing should get better and better the next few weeks. Snook are moving to the passes and some big females should start showing with up with them.
Target Species:
Snook, tarpon, sharks
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