Home › SetAnchor.com Fishing News › Fishing
Fishing: Now is a great time to be on the water
More Fishing
- Fishing Report: If it's January, it's time for trout
- Federal group proposes protection rules for endanged smalltooth sawfish
- Angler's Outlook: Take it to the limit
Tell us about it
- What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
- Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
- Upload photos & videos
- More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.
STORY TOOLS
Share and Enjoy [?]
NAPLES The fishing was good in all areas this week, including offshore. The waters were stained from the rain, but the fish didn’t seem to mind. Bait was plentiful, the tides strong under the full moon and all of the traditional October predators were hungry.
Schools of tarpon in the 50- to 100-pound range continued to roam the beaches. Last week, the most fish seemed to be south of Everglades City. This week, the tarpon moved right into the Naples area. Schools of 100 fish or more were reported along Keewaydin Island.
Unfortunately, there was a full moon this week, and tarpon tend to feed at night during the full moon, so hook-ups were not as easy as sightings, especially for those using flies or artificials. Nevertheless, live or cut baits did produce some impressive catches.
Snook and redfish were plentiful in all areas. The snook were mostly smaller fish, but 20- to 30-fish days were common. The redfish varied. A few guides said they could only find undersized fish, while others caught nothing but oversized reds, but I am sure somebody nailed a few in the slot.
This week should produce more of the same. The tides will get a little weaker, the water a bit cleaner and the tarpon, redfish and snook will continue to feed.
Offshore, snapper and mackerel are the easiest targets. Red grouper can be caught well offshore, and for the specialists, there are cobia and permit over the more secluded wrecks.
NAPLES: Capt. Pat Gould took out his brothers, Greg and Devin Gould, on Tuesday morning and said there were tarpon in the passes, along the beaches and in the back bays. The bigger fish were on the outside while the juveniles were in the bays and, in certain areas, they could see the fish lined up in huge schools.
The Goulds managed to land a 25-pound tarpon before they opted to fish for other species. They then added 15 snook, plus several large jacks to their morning’s catch.
On Monday, Gould fished the same area for fish to bring back to the dock, and said that he caught two large redfish, a limit of mangrove snapper, Spanish mackerel, plus small snook and jacks. He said the water is dirty, but the fish seem to be very hungry.
MARCO ISLAND/TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS: Capt. Larry Regienczuk fished south of Goodland on Thursday and reported excellent action wherever he went. Regienczuk netted finger mullet for bait and then caught more than 20 snook, two slot redfish, one tarpon, plus jacks and ladyfish. His party also jumped four other tarpon.
Regienczuk said the water was very stained, but it didn’t seem to matter. The tides were excellent, and the snook were feeding. Regienczuk expects the fishing to improve even more this week as the waters clear.
EVERGLADES CITY: The water south of Everglades City is very dirty, and this has been hard on Capt. Bruce Miller, who fishes exclusively with artificials and flies. Nevertheless, he had a fairly good day last week, fishing with Mike Larko and William Malloy. They caught and released 10 to 15 snook, plus a half-dozen redfish. They also jumped and lost a 40-pound tarpon. Miller was using jigs and said the action was good, but he usually catches larger snook in October.
Miller tried fly fishing on Monday, but the water was very dirty, and he only managed to catch one snook.
Miller is hoping that the rains will subside this week, and the fishing will improve. There is bait all along the outside, and the fish are feeding. There just needs to be enough visibility for the fish to see the lure.
FRESHWATER: Sharon at the Lake Trafford Marina reported that the fishing has been excellent. Everyone is catching specs and bluegills both from the banks as well as out on boats. The best fishing seems to be on the west side of the lake where anglers are drifting for their fish. The specs are taking jigs or live minnows. The bluegill have been eating worms.
E-mail John Preeg at captjohnpreeg@aol.com







Comments
This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below. Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. Break our rules, and we will ban you. No exceptions, no second chances. Read our privacy policy & user agreement.
Post your comment
(Requires free registration.)