More Fishing

• Fishing: Cold front has cooled things down, but opportunities still abound
• Fishing Report: With temperatures dropping, fish are on the move
• Fishing: Naples' Pruitt falls short on tiebreaker

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NAPLES — I couldn’t find any local guides who were dedicated enough to fish through Fay on Monday and Tuesday, so I called a few fish that I know personally, but they too were still boarded up. The snook and redfish said that they were not planning to go out to eat before the weekend, possibly even early next week. A few snapper said that they might venture out as early as Friday, and the grouper moaned that they might never eat again, but then again, grouper are known to be pessimists.

Whenever a storm roars through our area, the water turns to mud, the bait is driven offshore and the fishing shuts down. The big question is the recovery date, because most anglers agree that when the fish start feeding, they will be famished. If you go out too early, you might be “skunked,” but if you wait too long, you will have to listen to your neighbor brag about his 40-snook morning.

Since Fay tip-toed onshore right at Cape Romano, it is a good bet that the waters south of Marco Island (the right side of the storm) are a mess. It will probably be early next week before the outside waters clear, and even though the back bays will recuperate more quickly, there is so much freshwater pouring out, that it is doubtful that there will be many fish caught in these areas.

Estero Bay is very shallow, so it is certainly dirty, but because of the grasses, this area clears more quickly than the Ten Thousand Islands, and I would expect at least some fish being caught over the weekend. Naples Bay might actually be the best area to start your fishing. This area has good shelter and was fishing well before the storm. If you want to fish Saturday, try the channels between Naples and Marco Island.

Offshore, the early target is mangrove snapper. Snapper fishing is actually better when the water is colored. It will probably be too muddy inside of seven to 10 miles, but there should be good snapper fishing over the wrecks in the 15- to 30-mile range as soon as any boats can get out. Mackerel, cobia, and permit fishing will recover more slowly, and grouper will start biting last. They need clean water, and of course, it takes them a little time to get over the depression, both tropical and mental.