June 2009
Snook
WOW! Snook are pretty much everywhere; the river, the creeks, Matlacha, Pine Island Sound, Fort Mires Beach, Sanibel Beach, Captiva (both), all of the
passes, and under all the bridges. We caught fish up to 39 1/2 inches this month. One afternoon I went out and tried 4 spots before finding the fish. I
found them on the Cape Coral side of Matlacha Pass. We fished 50 yards of shoreline for 3 hours and caught about 20 Snook. We lost just as many and
had to "lay low" a couple of times because "Flipper" was nearby and would cruise in and take the snook as soon as we released them. Even with the
dolphin blasting into our fishing hole the fish continued to bite. I also ran a couple of night trips to dock lights and passes. We didn't catch as many fish
during these night trips as we did during the day but the size of the fish was impressive. Once evening we fished one light for 2-3 hours and landed just 4
fish (we lost 6-10). Each fish was between 36 and 39 inches long; on 10lb tackle! Now I must admit that we fished live bait almost all month and only used
artificals a couple of times.
Redfish
We managed to catch a few up next to the mangroves but we'd usually only see 1-3 fish in an area and it took a lot to get them to bite. With Snook being
so cooperative it just made sense to chase the Snook. I'm sure there were lots of Redfish in the area (saw a bunch of them at the cleaning table) but I
really didn't get a chance to target them much this month. The one thing that tends to yield a lot of reds is throwing lures under the mangroves during an
outgoing tide and I only did that a couple of times when out with friends.
Tarpon
Tarpon were all over Sanibel Causeway during the early morning and evening hours. We drifted the heavy outgoing tides with live threads and managed
to jump a couple of tarpon each evening. I had incredibly bad luck this month because we jumped over 20 fish but somehow lost all but 2 of them. That's
incredibly unusual when using circle hooks. If find that using circle hooks my percentage is usually closer to 30-40%. I also fished the causeway just
before and shortly after sunrise many mornings and found Tarpon rolling until approx 10am. These fish were picky and we only managed to jump a
couple of them. There were steady reports of Tarpon 1-2 miles offshore but it was too windy most days for me to venture offshore. I also had very few
people that were interested in Tarpon fishing so we chased Snook instead.
Trout
We got into an incredible Trout bite on two different days back in Ding Darling. We got skunked until the tide turned and I suggested to my client that he
pitch a bait away from the shoreline because I had seen a couple of ripples up on the flat. He cast his jig over to where I saw the ripple and immediately
hooked up with an over slot trout. We continued to catch 15-25" trout from that little area for the next hour and a half. We put 3 18"ers in the livewell for
dinner. I was back in the same place about 2 weeks later and again suggested to a different client that he make a cast over on to the flat and
again...BANG. Trout on. Again we caught big trout for an hour. We finally go tired of catching them and went over to the mangroves (50 feet away) and
nailed 3 decent Snook and a Redfish. We just kind of went in circles for about 2 more hours and rotated between the three species. Days like that don't
happen often but when they do, it sticks with you.
Snapper (Grey/Mangrove)
Snapper action was hot in the creeks throughout the month but the days with strong tides on either side of the full moon were best. We caught Snapper
up to 3 lbs during the afternoon outgoing tides. We fished with live Threadfins and Pinfish up next to the mangroves. The best spots combined strong
current, mangroves, and a drop off. The Snapper were up under the mangroves and all over the drop offs. We lost quite a few to the trees but managed
to catch plenty for dinner each time we went. Our actual target was snook (see above) but I'll never turn down the fight of a three pound snapper.
Best Bet for Non Stop Action - Snook
Snook are pretty much everywhere. We caught them on Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Beach, Captiva, Cayo Costa, Chino, York Island, Matlacha, the
Caloosahatchee River, the Creeks, and all over Pine Island Sound. For guaranteed action I net lots of threadfins first thing in the morning and work
shorelines with current and deep water nearby. To keep the bait in the strike zone a little longer I use a float or a split shot: either will slow the bait down a
little and the float is really helpful in detecting strikes. But if the fish are spooky, they'll not hit bait suspended from a float.
Good luck and tight lines.
Snook
WOW! Snook are pretty much everywhere; the river, the creeks, Matlacha, Pine Island Sound, Fort Mires Beach, Sanibel Beach, Captiva (both), all of the
passes, and under all the bridges. We caught fish up to 39 1/2 inches this month. One afternoon I went out and tried 4 spots before finding the fish. I
found them on the Cape Coral side of Matlacha Pass. We fished 50 yards of shoreline for 3 hours and caught about 20 Snook. We lost just as many and
had to "lay low" a couple of times because "Flipper" was nearby and would cruise in and take the snook as soon as we released them. Even with the
dolphin blasting into our fishing hole the fish continued to bite. I also ran a couple of night trips to dock lights and passes. We didn't catch as many fish
during these night trips as we did during the day but the size of the fish was impressive. Once evening we fished one light for 2-3 hours and landed just 4
fish (we lost 6-10). Each fish was between 36 and 39 inches long; on 10lb tackle! Now I must admit that we fished live bait almost all month and only used
artificals a couple of times.
Redfish
We managed to catch a few up next to the mangroves but we'd usually only see 1-3 fish in an area and it took a lot to get them to bite. With Snook being
so cooperative it just made sense to chase the Snook. I'm sure there were lots of Redfish in the area (saw a bunch of them at the cleaning table) but I
really didn't get a chance to target them much this month. The one thing that tends to yield a lot of reds is throwing lures under the mangroves during an
outgoing tide and I only did that a couple of times when out with friends.
Tarpon
Tarpon were all over Sanibel Causeway during the early morning and evening hours. We drifted the heavy outgoing tides with live threads and managed
to jump a couple of tarpon each evening. I had incredibly bad luck this month because we jumped over 20 fish but somehow lost all but 2 of them. That's
incredibly unusual when using circle hooks. If find that using circle hooks my percentage is usually closer to 30-40%. I also fished the causeway just
before and shortly after sunrise many mornings and found Tarpon rolling until approx 10am. These fish were picky and we only managed to jump a
couple of them. There were steady reports of Tarpon 1-2 miles offshore but it was too windy most days for me to venture offshore. I also had very few
people that were interested in Tarpon fishing so we chased Snook instead.
Trout
We got into an incredible Trout bite on two different days back in Ding Darling. We got skunked until the tide turned and I suggested to my client that he
pitch a bait away from the shoreline because I had seen a couple of ripples up on the flat. He cast his jig over to where I saw the ripple and immediately
hooked up with an over slot trout. We continued to catch 15-25" trout from that little area for the next hour and a half. We put 3 18"ers in the livewell for
dinner. I was back in the same place about 2 weeks later and again suggested to a different client that he make a cast over on to the flat and
again...BANG. Trout on. Again we caught big trout for an hour. We finally go tired of catching them and went over to the mangroves (50 feet away) and
nailed 3 decent Snook and a Redfish. We just kind of went in circles for about 2 more hours and rotated between the three species. Days like that don't
happen often but when they do, it sticks with you.
Snapper (Grey/Mangrove)
Snapper action was hot in the creeks throughout the month but the days with strong tides on either side of the full moon were best. We caught Snapper
up to 3 lbs during the afternoon outgoing tides. We fished with live Threadfins and Pinfish up next to the mangroves. The best spots combined strong
current, mangroves, and a drop off. The Snapper were up under the mangroves and all over the drop offs. We lost quite a few to the trees but managed
to catch plenty for dinner each time we went. Our actual target was snook (see above) but I'll never turn down the fight of a three pound snapper.
Best Bet for Non Stop Action - Snook
Snook are pretty much everywhere. We caught them on Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Beach, Captiva, Cayo Costa, Chino, York Island, Matlacha, the
Caloosahatchee River, the Creeks, and all over Pine Island Sound. For guaranteed action I net lots of threadfins first thing in the morning and work
shorelines with current and deep water nearby. To keep the bait in the strike zone a little longer I use a float or a split shot: either will slow the bait down a
little and the float is really helpful in detecting strikes. But if the fish are spooky, they'll not hit bait suspended from a float.
Good luck and tight lines.
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Fishing Reports