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NAPLES — Windy weather over Thanksgiving made for some rough rides offshore, and some stirred up water inshore. As of Monday we were seeing water temperatures in the low 60s, which really slowed down the early morning snook and redfish bite.
By the weekend, the wind started to abate and conditions improved. Schools of live bait seemed to be holding well off the beaches, but on incoming tide, the "rivers" of small glass minnows could be seen along the islands in the bays.
Inshore, we are starting to see more sheepshead and trout being caught. While there are a few hefty sheepies being brought in, most of the shrimp stealers are undersized. Trout are roaming the bays, both in the deeper cuts and on the grass flats. Reds are not as active as they had been, but a lot of that depends on where you are fishing.
Down in the Ten Thousand Islands, there seems to be a better population, and more reds are being caught. In Naples and Estero, snook seem to have the greater numbers. Anglers working the cuts and inlets are coming up with some pompano, and they range from little guys to nice two- and three-pound fish. Small tipped jigs at this time of year are a great way to fish and come up with a good variety of species.
Offshore: Capt. Michael Avinon reports that recent trips on the "Findictive" have ranged anywhere from 10 to 45 miles off the beach. During the rougher days last week, half-day and three-quarter day trips produced fish, but Capt. Michael says the cooler water has started to move the red grouper out to deeper water.
On Monday, he ran a full-day trip with Gary Zera and other members of the Naples Fishing Club, and they went out to 90 feet of water, where the big red grouper were quite willing to eat a cut bait. They put 20 keepers on ice, and they ranged up to 15 pounds. Other keeper size fish were released. Avinon also states that the amberjacks are starting to move closer to shore.
Steve Conte and family went out with Capt. Ed Nichols for a half-day trip recently, and they had plenty of action. In addition to the four keeper red grouper to 25 inches, the group did quite well on snapper. About a dozen mangrove snapper to two pounds, and a whole slew of big lanes (14 to 17 inches) kept the anglers busy. They battled rough water too on their ride to about 12 miles off the beach, but the results were worth it. Capt. Ed said they used cut sardines as bait, and the water was somewhat stirred up, which helped the snapper bite.
Capt. Pete Rosko of Capt. Pete's Bait and Tackle in Naples reports that Pat Zilch hooked up with a giant redfish about 10 miles off Marco Island. Pat was using a Cripple Herring jig when the fish hit, and when it was boated for a picture, it measured over 39 inches.
Freshwater: Golden Gate Tacklebox reports that the cooler water has continued to help the bass and snook bite in the lakes. This full moon will mark the start of the bass spawn next month, and the best fishing months for largemouth bass.
Water in the Seven Lakes is very clear, and live bait on light terminal tackle is the ticket to success. Jess Edwards states that the water is so clear that the fish can tell the difference between one brand of rubber worm and another, and that artificials just don't work well now.
Ten Thousand Islands: Cold water has slowed the redfish bite, according to Capt. Aron Blaisdell. Fishing out of Goodland, Aron has been using jigs tipped with shrimp on most recent trips. Trout, small snook, reds and pompano are all hitting, but the better bite is later in the morning into the afternoon.
Later in the day, he has been working the back bay using a shrimp under a popping cork, and finding better-sized redfish. Fishing with Skip Brown of Marco and his grandkids from Maryland recently, they had a good day on a variety of fish. At the end of the half-day trip, they went into a back bay where they landed a 27-, 28-, and 30-inch red.
Naples/Estero: Capt. Neil Eisner says that the cold water has definitely caused a slowdown of fish activity first thing in the morning. As the sun gets up, the fish become a lot more cooperative.
He has been finding a lot of sheepshead around the oyster bars, and they range from the annoying bait sealers to nice keeper fish. Anglers are using a small quarter-ounce jig tipped with a shrimp.
Neil has also been getting reds from the shorts to low slot size on the same rig. Trout are roaming the grass flats, and he has his anglers use a shrimp suspended under a popping cork. With that setup, some of the bites come from large hungry jacks that are zooming all over the bays. A few pompano have also been caught.
