Naples Fishing April

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Fishing Report: Snook coming on strong

Posted April 27, 2011 at 8:07 a.m.

NAPLES — Happy April = Happy Fishing! Warm water + good tides = Good Fishing!

With the equations out of the way, we can now get to the heart of the fishing report.

Along the beaches and in the bays, the snook are showing up in good numbers, and even more importantly, they are willing to eat. You will see a lot of fish in the three- to five-pound range, with some truly large fish mixed in.

The other day, one of my anglers got a nice snook close to the boat, and that is when we noticed the monster that followed "Junior" all the way to the boat. Another scenario like that is detailed in the Ten Thousand Islands report.

Reds seem to have slowed down recently, with only the anglers in the Islands reporting significant catches. Again this week, reports of large trout willing to eat a pilchard are coming in from all inshore areas. A few pompano, sharks, and the occasional small tarpon are rounding out the catches.

Offshore is all about red grouper once again. Anglers are finding an occasional keeper-sized fish as close as six miles off the beach. Boats venturing out into water 75 to 85 feet deep are finding nice groups of fish, ranging from 20 to 28 inches, and as a plus for the longer runs, they are also scoring some nice yellowtail and mangrove snapper.

Get on a wreck, and there is a good chance of finding some arm-breaking amberjacks. Two of the captains I spoke with had encounters with big bull sharks this week, and the kings are certainly still around. Water offshore is very clear, with reports of 40- to 45-foot visibility and temperatures in the upper-70s.

While soaking cut bait on the bottom, Tom saw some surface activity behind the boat, and thought maybe some Spanish mackerel were moving through. He was about to get a rod to cast to them, when one of the bottom rods doubled over, and young Abigale took over (with help from Dad of course). After scrambling around the boat's top and halting the screaming fish, she settled into a 10-minute battle with what ended up being a 38-inch king mackerel. Great job, fisherwoman!

Capt. Michael Avinon says the offshore conditions have been great recently, and the fish have also been cooperating.

On half-day trips, he has been venturing about eight to 10 miles off the beach for his fishing. There, he is picking up a mixed bag of Spanish mackerel, short grouper, snapper and sometimes a real surprise.

The other day while chumming up some jack crevelle to bend the rods, some large dark shapes showed up. Using a recently caught jack for bait, anglers quickly hooked up to some very large bull sharks, and then it was fight on.

For his full-day trips, Mike has been running out to 32 to 35 miles to the deeper ledges.. There he is finding limits of red grouper for all the anglers on the boat. For these fish, which are running to 28 inches, he is using cut bait and squid.

After the limits are in the box, he is then moving to his amberjack spots, where fish in the 20- to 25-pound range are wearing out the arms of all aboard.

Onboard the "Sea Legs," Capt. Tom Robinson has also been running a combination of half- and full-day trips out of the Naples City Docks.

On the half days, he is finding a few keeper red grouper mixed in with the shorts. He also has had encounters with sharks small and large, with one eight-footer leading the boat on a half-mile chase before giving up to the angler.

Full-day trips are taking them out 26 to 30 miles offshore, where the limits of red grouper are being caught. On Monday's trip they landed nine keepers in just one stop. Nice-sized yellowtail and mangrove snapper are being caught around ledges in this deeper water.

A few kings are being hooked, and a 29-inch gag was released on a recent trip. Capt. Tom says that the goliaths are starting to get aggressive again, and warns anglers to get their catch up to the surface quickly before Mr. Goliath can inhale your dinner.

Naples/Estero Bay : Fishing out of Naples is good, according to Capt. Pat Gould, who says that there are a lot of snook everywhere, and that if the water is moving, the fish are biting.

He is using live bait, and casting the shorelines, where the fish are in the three- to five-pound range with an occasional larger fish pouncing on a bait. Pat is also seeing a fair number of large tarpon in the back bays, and hooking up with the occasional giant while fishing for snook.

Trout in the 20-inch range are also eagerly taking the pilchards, and Capt. Pat is getting two or three every trip. On a recent trip that he describes as one of the best he has ever had, two anglers boated upwards of 75 snook and 10 reds for a full day of fishing.

Capt. Mike McDonald has been seeing some nice-sized mangrove snapper moving into the bay. He has also been putting anglers on to trout up to 22 inches using shrimp under a popping cork. A few rat reds and undersized snook are hitting the shrimp under a cork, too. Capt. Mike reports seeing large tarpon around Big Carlos Pass in the mornings.

Ten Thousand Islands: Angler Karin Raye was fishing with Capt. Rob Walczak recently, when she made the catch of a lifetime.

While tossing out a pilchard, she hooked up with a huge snook in about four feet of water. After a tense few minutes, she landed a fish estimated to go over 35 pounds (the boca only goes to 30!). This fish had a 24-inch girth, and measured 46 inches long. This fish was followed to the boat by a couple other snook in the 20-pound class.

On a trip Monday, Rob had angler Tom Dahlberg and sons along. Tom landed a very respectable 38-inch snook, and the boys managed about 12 other snook, and a 25-inch trout for their efforts. To end things up, they jumped a tarpon in the 40-pound range. Nice day.

Capt. Bill Jones recently took out a couple. The husband bought his wife a new rod, and scheduled the trip for her birthday.

Using live bait, they pulled in six snook in the 24- to 32-inch range, five reds (one over-slot, 31-inch fish), and a couple of trout over 20 inches. Great way to celebrate her birthday; she ended up catching most of the fish.

Bill says the water is still dirty looking. Some schools of threads are showing up offshore, and they are being eaten by some large tarpon. Bill jumped one Sunday in the 130-pound range. If the wind stops he hopes to tangle with more of the big guys soon.

South of Marco, Capt. Shane Miller has been doing well on snook. On Monday, he took Gary Stinchoff and his wife out for some fishing, and they nailed some nice snook. The largest was a big, 34-inch fish, with lots of fish in the 24- to 28-inch range.

Shane has been netting live bait each morning, and snook aren't the only fish eating them. Tuesday morning while snook fishing, he had an angler throw away from the shore and bang, fish on. He had found a nice school of large trout, and his anglers ended up with six fish over 20 inches, and about 20 in the 18- to 19-inch range.

Fishing Report: A few tips on shore fishing, and please share yours

Posted April 20, 2011

NAPLES — We had an inquiry this week about fishing from shore: Where and how?

A lot of us fish from boats and have been doing our fishing this way for some time, but I would bet that most of us have done a bit of shore fishing in our fishing past. This angler wanted to know where the best place to fish would be, and what to use for bait or what type of lure. I will throw my two cents in. However, it would be great to get some feedback from others out there.

Since the inquiry mentioned bass in ponds, I will address that type of fishing. In my distant past, I was an avid bass fisherman, and walked the shores of lakes, rivers, and ponds seeking Mr. Largemouth. My fishing was done for the most part in the early evening, just before dark and occasionally in the early morning.

Surface baits were my weapon of choice, and when you got a hit it was spectacular. I would vary my lures between chuggers/poppers and twitch baits, like the old Rappalas. Look for any kind of structure, and work your bait all around it. Sometimes by being persistant you "tick" the bass off, and they just hit it because they are aggravated. Give it a try.

Now to this week's report. Inshore , the summer pattern is becoming established, despite a couple of cooler mornings with a strong northeast wind. Water temps are in the high 70s to low 80s, and without much in the way of rain, the water is fairly clean in many areas.

Even in parts of the Ten Thousands Islands, the water is returning to seasonal coloration. Bait is, for the most part, fairly abundant, with pilchards closer to the beach, and threads just offshore and around any structure. The jumbo threads are sought after for the big tarpon that have been showing up. Some good numbers are starting to appear off Bonita and Fort Myers Beach, and a few are actually eating.

Snook and reds continue to be the target of most inshore anglers, and there are some real nice fish of both species around to catch. Snook in the eight- to 10-pound range are being reported from Goodland up to Estero Bay. Some of the fish are being caught on cut bait, while others are gobbling the live bait.

Other species like black drum, flounder and pompano are being reported by anglers targeting these species. Sharks are also showing up everywhere, from the passes to the back bays, and some of them aren't too small.

Kingfish and Spanish mackerel highlight the offshore reports this week, but a few cobia and large sharks are providing for some interesting angler matchups. These are fish that are being caught anywhere from three to 15 miles off the beach , within reach of a lot of boaters (check the weather first).

Live bait, cut bait and even squid have been effective in getting the bite. Generally early in the morning, the water is a little calmer, and by noon the onshore breeze has kicked up quite a bit.

Offshore: Capt. Jim Wheeler had a great catch made on one of his recent trips.

Thirteen-year-old Cole Tracy from Whitesville, N.Y., was out on a trip about three miles offshore when he had a huge hit on his jig by a large cobia, but it got off. Quickly, a second rod with a shrimp on a hook was put into action, and the fish hit and straightened the hook. Not to be discouraged, young Cole tossed yet another bait (a small grunt on a 3/0 hook) to the still cruising fish, and the battle was on. After about 20 minutes, a 43-inch cobia was brought to gaff and taken home for dinner.

On Monday, Capt. Wheeler had a group from Eagle Creek out for a trip, and they got into a mess of nice-sized Spanish mackerel. By the end of the trip, they had boated over 20 nice macks in the 25-inch range. As a bonus, one of the anglers had a 10-pound jack eat a pinfish and try to pull the angler into the water. Jim says that the kings are around as well, and eating live bait or shrimp.

Fishing out of Wiggins Pass, Capt. Vince Hemmingway took a group out about six miles where they hit a group of hogfish in the 12- to 18-inch range. Also in this close, his anglers, the Needham family from Michigan, brought in a number of decent-sized trigger fish. They also did battle with an eight-foot hammerhead, and a six-foot nurse shark. Vince was using cut sardines and squid on the hooks.

Capt. Austin of the Sea Hooker had a recent trip with Cathy and Pat Higgins from Indiana, and Kelly Gillian from Ohio. Running out to about nine miles, Capt. Austin had Cathy fighting the big shark she wanted, and while this was going on, he spotted a large cobia nearby. Quickly grabbing a baited rod, he made the cast and gave Pat the rod. Sometime later, a tired Pat landed a 48- inch, 32-pound cobia. Among the other fish caught that day, Kelly got a 20-pound king.

Naples/Estero Bay: On Thursday, I had a great time with Craig Zlotek and his two sons, Colin (8) and Luke (4) who are from Buffalo, and their uncle, Scott Kulpa from Ohio.

While I have had five-year-olds a number of times, never had I tried fishing with a four-year-old angler. Well, at the very first spot, both Colin and Luke hooked up on good fish, and things got wild.

Colin's fish found something in the water to wrap the line around, and we lost that one, but Luke (with a lot of help from Uncle Scott) landed his first snook -- an eight pounder!

During the course of four hours, we caught and released around 20 fish, with father and uncle providing great help to the anglers. Colin, at only eight, is a very good angler, and his little brother is right behind him. Right at the end of the day, Uncle Scott finally got to get a rod in the water, and promptly put a 10-pound snook in the boat. Great trip!

Fishing in Naples, Capt. Steve Sabara says that the reds are everywhere. Most of these fish are in the 17- to 22-inch range and getting bigger every week.

Using mostly shrimp on a hook with a small split shot, Steve has been hooking up with some pompano and a lot of flounder, too. In fact, a jumbo southern flounder that was 23 1/2 inches long and weighed over six pounds was boated on a recent trip. That combination also has been producing some mangs and a number of black drum up to 17 pounds. The highlight of recent trips was a 29 1/2-inch red and a 30-inch snook caught in the pass one morning.

Ten Thousand Islands: Capt. Andy Werner reports a fairly good snook bite on Sunday, with a dozen brought to the boat, including two at 30 inches.

Andy says that a couple of jumbos won the battle and broke off. Andy has also been catching a number of reds with a mix of small and slot fish. He has been using live and cut bait, saying that one day they seem to prefer the live bait, and the next will only hit the cut bait. Capt. Werner says the water conditions have improved recently.

Fishing out of Goodland, Capt. Jack Thompson has been doing well on reds in the 19- to 20-inch range using shrimp on a jig. There are Spanish mackerel mixed in with the reds, too. Black drum in the 8- to 10-pound range have been willing to eat the shrimp as well. The area that Jack has been fishing has fairly dirty water, but that hasn't stopped the fish from eating.

Fishing Report: Tarpon are out there, but not in big numbers yet

Posted April 13, 2011

NAPLES — A frequent sight this time of year is all the car carriers loading up vehicles for the trip north, now that the fishing is getting real good and everyone is leaving.

Inshore and nearshore , we are seeing some of the schools of threads that usually are accompanied by hungry tarpon, but it seems that the big push is yet to happen. From the upper Ten Thousand Islands to Fort Myers Beach, everyone is looking for the large pods of the big silver guys, with limited results.

Tides of the last few days have been less than stellar which has resulted in tougher fishing at times. Find some moving water, and you found some fish willing to eat.

Snook, reds , and some really large trout are around, and with better tides this week, the bite should be much improved. Most of the reds are being had using shrimp on a jig or on a hook with a split shot. Again, we are seeing the smaller fish most of the time, with the occasional slot- or even over-sized red on a line. Even the smaller fish are inching up to where more are falling into the low end of the slot, but if you can hold off filleting them now, by fall they will have a lot more meat on them.

Trout , some as large as five pounds, are eating white baits around inlets and rocky structure. These guys fight like a good- sized redfish, and keeping just one will provide dinner for two.

We are also seeing pompano making brief appearances around the passes as well and they are jumping on small Monty's jigs tipped with shrimp. These buggers are quick with the bite, and amazingly can pick off the smallest piece of shrimp in an instant.

King mackerel are the star of the offshore action right now. Many of these fish are being caught just six miles or so off the beach, with lots more of them in a little deeper water. Fill the well with live pilchard and chum them up to the boat, and then hang on. Remember to loosen your drag so the fish doesn't pull the hook during the initial high speed run. You might also have to watch out for the large barracuda that love to eat half of a 12-pound king in just one bite.

Red grouper large enough to keep are being caught by the boats willing to go out to deep enough water. Fish in the six- to 10- pound range are eating both live and cut bait on the bottom. Lots of lane snapper and under-sized grouper are being caught closer in.

Offshore: Occasional contributor Charles Haskill (remember his huge tripletail last year?) was offshore the other day with a couple of friends, and they hit a small pod of cobia. Friend Paul Janda from Michigan had never caught a cobia before, and he ended up landing two of the four caught. Three were big enough to go home for dinner, and one smaller one was safely released.

Capt. Mike Lucas, onboard the "Cuda," has been fishing a mix of half-day and full-day trips the last week.

Mike states that the fishing has been pretty good, with his half-days catching lots of kings in about 45 feet of water. On the full days, he has been venturing out to about 75 feet of water, where he is doing well on keeper red grouper up to nine pounds. A highlight on a recent trip with the Lancone family was an encounter with a huge bull shark estimated at nine to 10 feet long. The Lancones won, and the shark was released. Water temperature offshore has been in the high 70s.

On Sunday, George Areston took family and friends out for a half day on "Sea Spirit," captained by Bob Fisher. Capt. Bob first loaded up on live pilchards, and then headed out to about 15 miles, where he chummed the kings right up to the boat.

Using light, 12-pound spinning gear , they wore out the kings and themselves. At the end of the day, 11 nice kings were on ice, and they ranged up to about 24 pounds. A mess of nice lane snapper joined the kings on ice. Capt. Fisher reports the water was clear and calm.

Ten Thousand Islands: A report from Tom Gallogy who recently fished the Gopher Creek area for snook had two very interesting catches.

First of all, he hooked up with a very large fish that ended up being a five- to six-foot sawfish that released himself at the boat after being video recorded.

A little later, Tom was throwing a jig farther up the creek, when something substantial ate it. After a few minutes, he had almost landed a nice, 30-inch snook when the leader parted and the fish took off. On the very next cast by his buddy, another nice fish was on, and this one made it to the boat. In its mouth was the nice new jig that Tom had just lost. Same fish on two casts!

Capt. Stacy Mullendore has been fishing pretty much every day, and is concentrating mostly on redfish, with most of them running 16 to 20 inches, with some jumbo nine- to 12-pounders mixed in.

A high note in the last couple of days has been a pretty fair snook bite. Stacy has been hitting seven or eight each day. Capt. Mullendore has been using shrimp for the reds, and live bait for the snook., He says there is a lot of bait on the beaches and in some of the coves. Catch of the day was a 12-pound snook caught by Joe Medes of Michigan.

"Pretty good" is how Capt. Ken Chambers describes fishing in the islands recently.

He also has been doing well on the reds around the oyster bars using shrimp on a jig. Ken says the water is real dirty, but that hasn't stopped the fish from biting. He is also throwing topwater plugs, and nailing some snook in the back bays. On full days recently, he has had anglers getting up to 20 snook on a trip. An occasional tarpon is seen rolling, but no concentrations yet.

Naples/Estero Bay: Capt. Seth Hayes has been running off the beaches in the morning looking for tarpon, and on Sunday, they jumped three and landed two, with the largest being a big, 160-pounder caught by Larry Portage.

There have been no large concentrations of fish, even though large threadfin herring are around in good numbers now. After the morning tarpon hunt, Seth has been moving into the bay, and having anglers thrown pilchards around points and bars. With the poor tides the past few days, the snook have been a little on the slow side, but with better tides this week that should turn around.

Down in Naples , Capt. Tim Daugherty has been doing well on reds and snook. He has been finding his fish in clear water one to four feet deep on the outside and around the middle islands.

Most of the reds are the smaller guys, but he also is finding some slot- or over-sized fish as well. As a bonus, some really large trout are feeding in the same water, and are just as willing to eat the jig. Snook are also on the feed in Naples, and using whitebait, he has been getting a lot of fish in the three- to five-pound range.

Pompano are making quick appearances in the passes, and a lot of Spanish mackerel are also to be found there.

Fishing Report: Celebrating the return of grouper

Posted April 6, 2011 at 8:45 a.m.

NAPLES — While most of March provided us with light winds and sunny skies, the end of the month certainly did "go out like a lion," but the fish didn't seem to mind too much.

On the inshore front , bait became more difficult to get due to the stronger on shore winds, forcing anglers to look for bait places other than on the beach. If you got the bait, you got the fish. Snook and redfish have been readily eating the live baits in the Naples to Estero range, with the Marco and Ten Thousand Island fish seeming to still prefer a shrimp dinner.

Of course, the passes and bays got churned up pretty good in the last week, and that made finding cleaner water a challenge in most areas. The lee side of larger islands and smaller sheltered coves, where you had some water flow, seemed to be where the best fishing was. While snook seem to be around in good numbers from Marco north, the Ten Thousand Islands area seems to be lacking substantial numbers of snook.

The wind and dirty water have slowed down the trout and pompano action, and made looking for tarpon very difficult. Some reports of larger bait schools offshore should indicate that the big pushes of tarpon will be happening soon. With the weatherman forecasting an easing of the wind and it shifting back to the east, that will help the tarpon hunters.

Offshore, the grouper are back . As of April 1, it is legal to keep red grouper in both state and federal waters. Gags found within nine miles of the shore (state waters) are fair game, too. Remember to handle all fish carefully and return all shorts to the water quickly.

King mackerel are around in good numbers, and are being taken by trollers and baitfishers. Find some good schools of bait over some good bottom, and the kings should be around. Most of the fish are in the six- to 10-pound range, but larger fish are getting to be more common.

Ten Thousand Islands: Capt. Aron Blaisdale has been concentrating on the redfish bite out of Goodland. He has been using a shrimp under a popping cork around the bushes with good results.

While most of the fish are in the 17- to 22-inch range, he has had anglers hook up with fish up to 30 inches recently. Other species being caught while hitting the reds include snook, trout, and even pompano. There has been some bait on the beaches, but the fish seem to be hitting the shrimp better. With the water fairly dirty but warm, Aron says the fish are certainly around, and he has even seen a few tarpon early in the mornings.

Lots of reds in the 18- to 19-inch range are also the target for Capt. Glen Puopolo, fishing out of Everglades City. He also is using shrimp on a jig or under a popping cork to coax bites. He has been a lot of reds with some snook mixed in. On a recent trip, Pat Riley from Ohio landed upwards of 25 reds on a trip with Capt. Glen.

Also fishing out of Everglades City , Capt. Brandon Acosta says "ditto" about the fishing. Mostly reds and some trout are keeping his anglers busy. In the dirty water, shrimp seem to do the trick. A catch of note was a nice 27-inch red caught by 13-year-old Austin from Indiana. Nice job!

Naples/Estero Bay: Low tides first thing in the mornings have had Capt. Tim Daugherty fishing topwaters in the somewhat cleaner water in the back.

He is throwing Zara Spooks and Skitterwalks around bars and islands, with good results. Dark colors seen to be doing the best on snook and reds. Another thing that Tim has been doing is fishing small pieces of shrimp on small hooks, with a light split shot. He has been catching a variety of fish out of a single spot using this method. On a recent trip, angler David Crouch landed a nice 29-inch snook that inhaled a Zara Spook.

Up in Estero Bay , the recent winds have been unkind to water quality. Dirty water seems to be everywhere, but there are patches of somewhat cleaner water, and that is where Capt. Steve Nagy has been getting his fish during the day.

Nine-year-old Brian Pettit celebrated his birthday by catching the biggest snook and an eight pound jack crevelle on Monday. Capt. Steve also did a night trip with Jack Pasch, and they put about 30 snook in the boat. They ranged from about 20 to 25 inches.

Offshore: Capt. Mike Lucas has been putting anglers onboard the "Cuda" onto some nice king mackerel action recently.

Trolling spoons in about 45 feet of water has produced fish in the six- to 15-pound range for customers. On Saturday, Capt. Mike found a limit of red grouper up to 24 inches that were invited to be dinner guests. Mike also reports several encounters with cobia, where the cobia was the winner. Offshore, the water is not too bad, and the temperature is about 73 degrees.

Onboard the "Sea Legs," Capt. Tom Robinson also took advantage of the reopening of red grouper season. On Saturday, they put 12 keepers in the box. On the way back in, they found the kings, and landed fish up to 15 pounds on bait.

On Sunday, Tim Mitzner and friends limited on red grouper, and also put a 25-pound amberjack on ice, as well as mangrove snapper to 22 inches, and one very large yellowtail.

On Monday, Dave Lane's group nailed the reds and mangs, and released a number of keeper gags, too. During the return to the dock, they also hit the kings.

How to Find a Guide

Shorten the Learning Curve - Save Money & Time -
More Productive Fishing - all good reasons. Here's one more....

(excerpt from Secrets from Florida's Master Anglers)

Friends and acquaintances are good sources for recommendations, but if none are available for your intended destination, use the internet.

Most professional guides maintain web sites that can be found by Googling the location you want to fish. Organizations such as the Florida Guides Association (florida-guides.com) are also good sources.

"These organizations," says Capt. Tom Van Horn, "hold their members to high standards. Members are required to provide their legitimacy annually."

Proof of a Coast Guard captain’s license, a state issued vessel license that covers all anglers on the boat, marine insurance that includes liability coverage and adherence to a stated code of ethics are some of the things to look for in a qualified guide.

Now here's your part.

Guide #1: Guests should recognize that not every day will be full of fish and aim to share a fun day on the water.

Guide #2: I value clients who discuss their experience and level of fishing skills before the trip. Let me know if inexperienced anglers, small children or special needs persons will be accompanying them. This assists me in planning the strategy for the day.

Guide #3: Patience and willingness to listen is the best virtue of a prospective client. I want to accommodate them in every way. Their willingness to trust me and follow instructions will normally improve the day’s productivity.

Guide #4: I really appreciate it when my clients show up on time and are prepared to deal with the weather and willing to listen and learn.

Fishing Report: Snook starting to rebound

Posted March 30, 2011 at 8:04 a.m.

NAPLES — At the end of last week, the weather pattern changed somewhat, with the east winds that had been around for a couple of weeks switching to a west then southwest wind.

That made for a few more bumps in the road for anglers heading offshore, and also created challenges for people throwing a net just off the beaches. One thing it didn't hurt was the fishing. Reports coming in from all areas indicate good to great fishing both inshore and offshore.

Snook are really starting to show up in decent numbers from Marco up through Estero Bay, and a number of really nice fish are being landed and gently released.

On Friday, J.T. Ford hooked into a big girl that we finally measured at 37 inches. The big fish are really liking the larger pilchards or even the jumbo threadfin herring that are being netted. Before the wind shift, we were seeing a good number of fish on the beach, and with the warming water, more should be there this next week. While throwing some of those larger baits, don't be surprised if it is crashed by a big jack , which are hunting in packs this time of year. Some of these fish are running up to 10 pounds.

This is the time of year when we get some really nice trout, too. Fish up to five pounds are being caught, and three-pounders are not unusual. They are readily eating whitebaits, and I am fishing with some weight on the line most of the time. Reds ranging from the undersized school fish we have been catching for the past eight months, to some mid-slot fish, have been eating both shrimp and pilchards.

King mackerel are here , and in good numbers. While most of the fish are the smaller school size, there are some catches of much bigger fish. Some of the reports are stating that catches are being made as close as five miles off the beach. Farther offshore, there is lots of action to be had, with mangrove snapper, lanes, small to large grouper, Spanish mackerel, barracuda, and even sharks providing anglers with great action.

Another much-sought-after species making their annual appearance is the cobia. They are making the trip up the coast and are being found anywhere from just off the beaches to well offshore.

Fish of over 40 pounds are being landed, and even larger ones are tearing up tackle. If you can find them, they will usually be willing to eat whatever you throw in their direction.

Ten Thousand Islands: On Monday and Tuesday, Capt. Rob Walczak took the Jim Petro group out of Goodland for some light tackle action.

Using mostly jigs , they landed a bunch of reds, ranging from 17 inches to 25 inches on Monday. Their catch also included a mix of trout, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, and jacks.

On Tuesday, they went fly fishing, and landed two reds and a 26-inch red. Then they went south looking for tarpon, and found some in the 40- to 80-pound range south of Everglades City. Rob reports that the water has been dirty, but warm. That dirty water didn't hurt much on Saturday when his charter landed 35 reds, 15 snapper, and three snook.

Capt. Steve Hatcher, fishing out of Caxambas Pass, has been doing well on snook in the 22- to 32-inch range this past week.

He is using live bait, which is also being readily consumed by mangrove snapper, too. The mangs have been ranging up to 14 inches. A few small reds have been rounding out the catch for Steve, who also reports seeing a few tarpon rolling, though they weren't interested in eating. On a recent charter, John Portelli hooked and landed a nice, 33-inch snook. Capt. Hatcher says the water has been dirty for some time now, and you have to go well south for cleaner water.

Down Everglades City way , Capt. Pete Rapps says this is the best snook fishing he has seen since the big kill in 2010. He is finding his fish well into the backcountry.

On Sunday, brothers Scott and Jay Newsome, along with Jessica Scull, landed a dozen snook including two at 29 inches, and one three-incher. Several other larger snook won the race to the roots. Tuesday, another brother combination of Dennis and Kalvin Woodland put nine snook in the boat, including two at 31 inches and one 34 incher. Added to the catch was a 27-inch red and a 17-pound goliath.

Pete says that the bite is best at the beginning of the incoming, until the dirty water makes its way to the back. Water is in the mid-70s.

If you are interested in some competition fishing out of Goodland , be sure to check out the third annual Yamaha Backwater Series event that kicks off April 9. Some of the proceeds will benefit the Make A Wish Foundation. Email Backwaterseries@yahoo.com for more information.

Naples/Estero Bay: Capt. Neil Eisnor has been doing well on snook in Estero Bay recently, using whitebait. Neil says that the fish have moved into their summer locations, and barring any late cold snaps, that pattern should hold.

Neil has also been doing well on slot-sized reds, while using shrimp on a jig, around the bars and bushes. These fish are hitting more vigorously than a month ago, when you barely felt a tap. On Sunday, Richard from Fishtail Marina was out with Neil, and he landed a nice, 27-inch red.

Mike Larko of Tall Tales Bait and Tackle says the fishing in North Naples has been very good in the last week. Around Wiggins Pass, anglers have been hitting snook, reds and trout with regularity.

Mike states that he is selling a lot of shrimp that are being used on the trout and pompano around the pass . Small tarpon are being caught, according to Capt. Jason Moore, and Capt. Matt Malone has been targeting near shore cobia recently. On his last trip they managed to land five, with three of those over 40 pounds. Larko also reports that recently a tarpon in the 120-pound class was jumped in water between Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel.

In Estero Bay , Capt. Seth Hayes reports consistent action on snook, with the average catch for a half day being 15 to 20 fish in the 20- to 29-inch range. Along with the snook, his anglers are encountering some large jacks, and landing a half dozen or so each trip. Water was relatively clean before Monday, and will take a couple of days to clean back up after the storm.

Offshore: Capt. Jim Wheeler targeted kings this past weekend, and his charters landed over 40 of them using pilchards for bait.

Running out of Gordon Pass, he found fish as close as six miles out. Al Allison of Naples landed a 42-incher, and another angler bested that with a 46-inch fish. As a challenge, they tried and succeeded, using a fly on a couple of the kings. Jim said they stripped it as fast as they could, and the aftermath was wild.

Onboard the Sea Hooker, Capt. Condon has been hitting the kings as well. Fish up to 12 pounds have been common.

On a recent trip, they landed cobia, bonita, kings, and an eight-foot shark, in addition to the snapper and grouper normally encountered. Richard Fox and family were onboard Monday for the action, and Mr. Krause and family took advantage of a bonita bite on Tuesday. The water was a little stirred up after Monday's thunderstorms, but the temperature is up to the mid-70s.

Capt. Tommy Robinson says fishing is good, and there are plenty of fish willing to eat. Running offshore six to 10 miles , Capt. Robinson has been putting his anglers on grouper, Spanish, snapper, and the occasional king. He says the majority of the kings are out about 16 miles out, and eating live bait.

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