FISHING REPORT: 10/29/2014 A dip in temperatures is on tap for this weekend and that should change things a bit in Estero Bay and the nearshore waters of the Gulf. The days are getting shorter, the water is getting cooler and that makes the fish friskier. It’s time to get there and wet a line! Reminder... Set your clocks back one hour when you hit the sack on Saturday night. The fish don’t care but your fishin’ buddy might if you set an early meet time. Capt. Rob Modys, SoulMate Charters. What a great week on the water. Both the back bay and nearshore fishing was top notch with lots of fish caught. The seatrout have shown up in good numbers on the grass flats and that should only improve as the cooler weather moves in this coming week. Look for them in 3 to 4 feet of water inside of New Pass and along the flats near Mound Key. There are still some big redfish to be caught but they are starting to shrink. That’s right, cooler weather brings in the smaller reds, but their numbers increase. We caught over a dozen this past week out of one location. Live shrimp worked best. Winds were up a bit, but access to the Gulf was still doable as long as we stayed within a couple miles of the shoreline. Spanish mackerel are everywhere and will bite most anything thrown their way. We also caught the first large gag grouper of the season on the nearshore reefs. They move in when the water cools off so it’s time to gear up. Capt. Jon Fetter of Catching The Cure Charters said that anglers looking for action need to venture no further than the May Reef. It’s teaming with various species including spanish mackerel, mangrove snapper, sheepshead, blue runners, grunts, seatrout and the occasional cobia. Shrimp tipped jig heads will work for just about everything but its a must for the mackerel and blue runners. Don’t be shy about putting out a jumbo shrimp under a float for a shot at a roaming cobia. They’re cruising the area. The passes are loaded with snapper, ladyfish, jacks and pompano. Drifting and bouncing jigs tipped with shrimp is the best setup. The redfish bite remained good on high water around the mangroves and oyster bars. Shrimp under floats or on jig heads got their attention. Anglers can also try free lined pinfish on 2/0 circle hooks. The keeper sized sheepshead have moved in thanks to the cooler water. Look for them near mangroves and oyster bar cuts. Capt. Greg Stamper of Snook Stamp Charters said that fishing this past weeks early morning lows turned out to be productive for upper slot and over slot reds itching to get on top of the flats and bars. Fishing topwater and swim baits along grass and sandy edges from Ding Darling all the way to North Captiva seemed to be the key. The snook are still chewing on the live bait which is plentiful just about everywhere. It won’t be long till they all push back into the backcountry. If its deep water you patrol, the bonita are everywhere from Knapps point north along Sanibel Island. Look for the hoards of birds dive bombing bait being pushed up in about 18 feet of water. Throwing spoons or small buck tail jigs will get you one on just about every cast or two. Tripletail are starting to show up on the crab buoys so keep an eye out when your running. Capt. Alex Dolinski of Spot On Charter said that Fall is here and so are the fish. Spanish mackerel, flounder, gag grouper and seatrout are on most of the nearshore reefs and rock piles. Locate a piece of structure, anchor your boat nearby and drop your lines next to the reef, not on top of it. Cut mullet, ladyfish or live shrimp will all work. Don’t forget to free line a live pilchard, shrimp or pinfish on a 2/0 hook behind the boat in the current. You might get a nice surprise from a big kingfish. Pompano are in and around passes on the sandy bottom in about 4 to 5 feet of water. Outgoing tides are best. Live shrimp on a 2/0 circle hook with just enough lead to get it to the bottom will catch ‘em up.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 22:00:01 +0000
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