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The backwater fishing has been a challenge. It is not bad, and there have been some phenomenal catches.

It is just so different from what it should be at this time of the year that you need to make a few adjustments, and it probably does not hurt to be a little lucky.

The outgoing waters are stained and almost black in some areas, and the incoming waters range from cloudy to muddy. There is very little bait in the southern section of our area, and some bait just beginning to show up farther north. Of course, these conditions should improve considerably by the weekend, but they will still be a factor.

The reports I received said the conditions appeared bleak, but the fish were biting. Topwater lures were not particularly effective, but jigs tipped with shrimp were, and cut bait often outfished live bait. The scent in the dirty water probably helped.

Redfish were the best target south of Marco Island, with many of the reds being large ones — top end of the slot or over. Snook fishing was better in the Naples area, and there were small tarpon back in the creeks. Even though the water remained dirty, the Spanish mackerel were already schooled along the beaches.

In general, it is difficult to find fish, but once you locate a school, the fishing is very good. Expect it to be even better this weekend as the effects of the recent storms subside.

NAPLES: Capt. Pat Gould was skeptical about his chances of success Sunday morning when he guided Taylor Sutton and Chris Stinson on a fly fishing trip in the Naples Bay area. The waters were fresh and dirty, so Gould left at 4 a.m. and started under the lights. What resulted was one of the best four hours of fly fishing that Gould has experienced.

Sutton and Stinson boated a dozen snook around the lights and moved out into a pass at dawn. The first bait since the storms was washing in the pass and was being greeted by schools of hungry snook, tarpon and jacks. Another 15 snook were boated along with ladyfish and jacks. No tarpon were hooked, but there were plenty of good chances at rolling fish. Gould said the pass was as active as he has seen it all summer.

A bit farther north, Nora Butler also found success fishing a pass. Butler walked the beach to fish Clam Pass and proudly landed several snook before hooking into a monster 36-inch jack. Butler won the battle with the jack, but reported that the next morning she suspected that she was in more pain.

MARCO ISLAND/TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS: Capt. Bill Jones has been fishing both the Marco Island area plus farther south to Dismal Key. The waters are muddy around Marco Island and stained farther south. Both conditions are not ideal, but the stained water seems to be producing more fish.

There is no white bait anywhere, but finger mullet are prevalent in the coves and around oyster bars. Unfortunately, this is dirty, muddy netting, and the oysters can be hazardous to the cast nets.

Jones has been primarily catching redfish with most of the fish in the upper end of the slot. Some snook are also biting but they have all been small — 18 to 22 inches is the average size. Jones has not caught any tarpon, but he has not really targeted them.

EVERGLADES CITY: Capt. Larry Regienczuk fished just north of Everglades City on Monday and reported the waters were dark brown and stained on the outgoing tide, and cloudy and muddy when the tide came in. Bait was difficult to find. Even the finger mullet were skittish.

Regienczuk fished with top water lures and jigs in the morning, and managed to catch a few snook and jacks. In the afternoon, he tried live baits with moderate success and actually had his best results with cut baits when he came upon a school of redfish mixed with sharks. The reds were all large between 25 and 33 inches. The sharks were mostly small blacktips with a few big bulls mixed in.

Surprisingly both fish were caught in the same spot, together. Typically, the redfish will leave when the sharks arrive, but perhaps the water was so dirty they couldn’t tell the difference between a redfish and shark.

WIGGINS PASS/NORTH NAPLES: Capt. Terry Davis said the recent rains and winds have resulted in Estero Bay looking like a cup of hot chocolate, but if you brave the wind, dodge the rains and ignore the water color there can be some very good fishing. Davis said he had good luck all week with snook up to 32 inches and redfish to 11 pounds.

Capt. Eric Davis, son of the above Capt. Terry Davis, also had some good results. He guided Paul Engle, who used live pinfish and white bait to score a grand slam, catching tarpon, snook, redfish and trout, all in a six-hour period. Davis said sometimes the worst weather can produce the best fishing.

FRESHWATER: Jess Edwards of the Golden Gate Tackle Box said the rains have lessened and the canals have slowed, so the freshwater fishing has improved considerably this week. A week ago, anglers were searching for calmer waters, but this week the best fishing was in the flow areas around the weirs.

Oscars and tilapia have moved into the shallow and are spawning. Peacock bass are done spawning and are taking top water lures in the Golden Gate City area, and there are some bass and tarpon being caught in the same area. Live shiners or plastic worms work best for the bass.

The snook action has improved farther north around Palm River and includes some very large oversized fish in the canals and creeks. The best fishing is early and late or right after a strong rain storm.

E-mail John Preeg at captjohnpreeg@aol.com.