Naples Fishing February

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Angler's tactics bring surf fishing bounty

Fishing buddy Drop-Kick Dave and I went to Venetian Bay for a day of surf fishing. The sun was shining bright, temps in the mid 70's, the Gulf water incredibly invigorating, no humidity, truly "a tropical paradise".

I regress now, The Jetty Point at Doctors Pass was our destination but two other fishermen were already there. Just had to sleep in a little to long but we were looking for the bottom of low tide and fish the incoming tide.

When the fishermen from the jetty left the point, they passed by us and we got to talking with Ted from Toronto and another angler and I'm sorry I do not recall his name but he caught several Teo Mackerel. He explained to me what a Teo Mackerel is. It's a cross between a Spanish Mackerel and a King Fish. Okay, could be, I love any Mackerel.

Interestingly, Ted showed us his homemade pompano rigs and we got to talking about Pompano and how we both love Pompano for many reasons.

( His Picture is above. Click to enlarge and check Larry out) This lead to Ted introducing me to Florida Legend and pompano expert, a native of Florida fishing the Gulf shores all 57 years. Hence this article I fished off of the Internet (sorry for the pun), I couldn't resist. Enjoy.

Then he showed us his homemade tackle box that cost nothing. It consisted of 6 paper coffee cups ( previously used of course) all of the same size and in each was a single rig/tackle. So anglers, save your used coffee cups, they're light and for the cost of six morning cups of joe (Dunkin Donuts Coffee of course) you got yourself a great tackle box.

It's always interesting talking to fellow anglers. Whether your a seasoned angler or a novice your a fisherman at this moment. I learn and pass on many tips about fishing and the waters of Southwest Florida. From Everglades City and the Ten Thousand Islands to Sanibel-Captiva, Pine Island and of course The Boca Grande - Home of the summer Tarpon. Again you never no what great tips you are going to hear.

We had great success and had a great time doing it. Caught a bunch of fish for sure; 2 flounder, one 3' shark, schoolie reds and a ton of ladyfish. Catch and release was the order of the day. Didn't catch Spanish Mackerel Though the fishing guys on the point were catching Mackerel, one of my favorite florida Fish Dinner. Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

So Enjoy the tips. Enjoy "Larry the fishermen of Florida". And good Fishing in "paradise found".

By WILLIE HOWARD

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

HOBE SOUND — With the ocean water sullied by runoff from Tropical Storm Fay, surf fishing regulars had their doubts about catching pompano there Tuesday. Larry Finch was not about to listen to the naysayers.

Loaded with confidence and packing a box full of live sand fleas, Finch demonstrated that pompano will bite, even on a steamy August morning in water the color of weak coffee.

What are these?

Finch - a Jacksonville angler and fish market owner known around Duval County as The Fish Man - loves to share his surf-fishing expertise. He is scheduled to speak about beach, bridge and other types of on-foot fishing during the Florida Sportsman Fishing Show, set for Sept. 13-14 at the South Florida Fairgrounds.

At Hobe Sound Beach, Finch began by making two pompano rigs. He wrapped 15-pound-test fishing line from his surf rods around pegs on a board and twisted parallel lines to tie two dropper loops, which extend out from the main line at a right angle.

He threaded plastic beads onto the loops - the orange beads resemble sand-flea eggs, a favorite pompano food - then threaded on 2/0 Mustad circle hooks.

After tying on snap swivels, Finch completed the rigs by clipping on 4-ounce Sputnik sinkers, whose wire "legs" make the sinker resemble the Russian satellite. The sinker legs hold the sand, then fold away when a fish hits, reducing drag when the fish is being pulled back to the beach.

Heading out to the beach at Hobe Sound with his loaded beach cart in tow, Finch paused on the dune and scanned the beach, looking north and south for a fishing spot.

"I want a break," he said. "I want it where the wave is breaking on the bar."

He headed to a spot where waves were breaking on a sand bar about 75 yards off the beach, leaving a foamy sheet on brownish water.Breaking waves unearth sand fleas, crabs and shellfish that bottom-feeding pompano eat.

Read more of Larry The Fish man Finch

Fishing Report::
Beautiful weather means beautiful fishing

NAPLES — If you were one of the many boaters out on the water the last few days, you can count yourself very fortunate. Just think, in many other areas of the U.S., the only fishing being done takes place in a little hole in the ice. Our beautiful days and mild nights have allowed the water temperatures to edge up without big drops every three days, and the fishing has improved accordingly.

For all the inshore anglers , this means some larger trout are being caught, in addition to the hoards of little guys. Snook also are becoming more plentiful, even down in the Ten Thousand Islands, where we had a major kill last winter.

Of course, those little reds are still found up and down the coast, and guess what? There are more of them creeping up into the 18- and 19-inch range, and with our bait run beginning, the food buffet will spur some additional growth. Pompano are being caught in some of the passes on jigs tipped with shrimp, and off course you can still catch a zillion ladyfish if you wish.

Offshore, good catches of mangrove snapper are being reported, and lots of grouper are being caught and released. As the water warms, more schools of bait are appearing, and that means the king mackerel should start showing up soon. The water offshore is absolutely beautiful, and with the light winds we had, it was an easy ride to the ledges.

Offshore: Capt. Allen Walburn sent me a picture of a 30-inch mangrove caught on one of his recent trips. Now that is some fish! It was caught on a bare crippled herring jig.

Tuesday, Capt. Allen ran out about 22 miles with anglers Jim Clapper from Illinois and Bob Arnold from Michigan on board. Using shrimp and the above mentioned jigs, they put limits of mangrove in the ice box. They ran up to seven pounds. Tip: Capt. Walburn is using a very light leader for these fish. They also released grouper up to 17 pounds.

On Friday, Geoff Shepard and Bill Hickman ventured out 30 miles to the ledges for a day of fishing . First stop was at the Gordon Pass head pin, to net some real nice pilchards. Once out on the ledges, they caught and released over 50 grouper, both gags and reds. Also in the mix were quite a few large lane snapper and an occasional mangrove. They were fishing in about 80 feet of water, and Geoff reports that it was very clear and calm as a lake.

Vince and Donna Gallo went out with Capt. Brant Keller recently for a day of offshore battle. After netting some bait, Capt. Brant ran west-southwest out of Gordon Pass, where they fished from 28 to 40 miles out . Donna caught and released a nice 20-pound gag, and they both caught snapper and other grouper before a move to a wreck for amberjack. Once on the wreck, they got worn out by AJs in the 25- to 50-pound range. Brant says the weather was perfect, and the water temperature was 69 degrees.

Ten Thousand Islands: Down in Everglades City, Capt. Pete Rapps has been on the water about every day recently. He reports that there are lots of small trout on the outside, but he is finding some nice 22- to 23-inch fish farther in the back. He is getting his trout using DOA Terror Eyz.

Sheepshead are plentiful , and a lot of them are smaller fish, but he did put a 4.5-pounder in the boat this week. An occasional snook is also making an appearance as a by catch while fishing for other species. The water is about 70 degrees and somewhat dirty, but better in the back bays. Catch of note was by Bill Cataldi, who caught a 36-inch bonnet head shark using a bucktail.

Fly fishing has been pretty good, according to Capt. Jeff Legutki down in the islands. He is seeing good numbers of fish. The primary target has been reds in the 25- to 31-inch range, and they are falling for a crab imitation fly. A few nice-size snook are making passes at the fly, too. On a recent trip, Bill Hill put the fly on a 28-inch red and Bill won the battle. Jeff reports that the water is "dingy."

Naples/Estero Bay: Snook are starting to pop in the Estero area. Tuesday, I had Bob Shulenberg, Jim Van Deuson and Micky "Big Fish" Payne on board for a half day of fishing.

While the first couple of spots were zeroes, the bite started at the third. Bob caught a large bonnet head on a jig, and Mickey landed some jacks up to five pounds. Snook were next on the agenda, and we ended up with 16 boated and released. One at 28 inches and two at 26 topped the list, but all the fish were nice size. A couple of reds to 19 inches and a nice keeper trout rounded out the day. We used live bait for most of the fish.

On Tuesday, Capt. Chick Burke had Larry and his wife, L.A., on board for a half day, and they hit the trout hard. With about 25 landed, it was not difficult to come up with two limits, with fish in the 22-inch range. Chick was using shrimp under a popping cork to coax the bite. A few sheepshead and a bunch of ladyfish rounded out the day.

Capt. Pat Gould has been fishing the Naples area, and says we are seeing a move into the spring fishing pattern . He has been able to net bait every day, but on some days the fish seem to prefer shrimp over the pilchards.

The reds are still around and scattered about, with one or two at a location instead of the 10 to 15 we saw when the water was cooler. On Tuesday, Pat took out Kim Shearburn and his friends Scott, Marvin, and Eddy. The days total was 17 snook and six reds on live bait. Capt. Pat reports the the water is dirty, and the afternoon onshore breezes seem to slow down the bite.

Fishing Report: Tarpon showing up
and even better weather on the way

Two steps forward and one step back. That is what this past week's weather has done to our fishing conditions, but we are winning, and spring is almost here.

A report out of Flamingo states that the tarpon have started showing up early this year. Locally, snook bites are becoming more frequent, and a few larger fish have been caught. Pompano are succumbing to jigs at an increased rate as the water warms, and pilchards are starting to make an appearance, too.

Offshore, the captains are reporting that a lot of grouper, reds and gags have been chomping baits, and then making the round trip to the boat and then back in the water. A number of these fish are in the 10- to 12-pound range. Currently, the star of the offshore bite is the mangrove snapper, which have been running as large as eight pounds! Out about five miles or so, the Spanish mackerel are eating the bait that is moving in as the water warms.

By this weekend, we should have 80-degree weather, and the forecast is for light winds, too. This will help both the temperature and the clarity of the water in a positive way. Let's hope that this is a week of two steps forward and no retreat.

Offshore: What a difference a week makes. The offshore boats have been venturing out anywhere from 20 to 30 miles offshore to fish the ledges and wrecks this past week, and the catches have been quite good.

Capt. Michael Avinon, onboard the "Capt. Marvel," has been doing real well on the mangroves . They ended up with 20 keeper snapper up to 23 inches, and practiced catch and release on a "bunch" of grouper, both reds and gags. Six gags of keeper-sized were included in the C&R fishing. On a wreck, Capt. Avinon reports that three amberjacks were brought to the boat, and they were in the 35-pound range. He was fishing about 30 miles out, and says the water is settling after recent winds.

Ted and Steve Balistreri went out with Capt. Allen Walburn of "A&B" Charters in the fog on Friday, and Capt. Allen credits the heavy fog with the excellent snapper bite that day. It looked dark to the snapper, and they went on feeding well into the gloomy day. Running out to about 24 miles, Allen put the boat over ledges and wrecks, and used shrimp for the mangs. Lots of grouper were caught and released as well, with several gags in the 10- to 12-pound range.

Ten Thousand Islands:

A report out of Flamingo, Capt. Andy Werner visited a backwater spot, where they caught whiting in the 17-18-inch range, which is a really good size for whiting.

On the inside, the snook are making their presence known on a more frequent basis, with most of the fish in the 22-23-inch range. With the slightly warmer weather, the specs have started to eat on a more regular basis, and as the water clears this upcoming week, this should only get better. Short reds are also eating the black bucktails (tipped) that Andy has been throwing. Water temperatures this past weekend were in the 67-degree range and clearing up after the most recent cold front.

Down in Everglades City Down in Everglades City, Capt. Glen Poupolo has been busy, fishing almost every day. He has been doing well on trout in the 16- to 20-inch range. On a recent trip with John Pewter, they also caught several pompano in the 3-pound range, as well as their share of short reds. Glen says he is also hitting the occasional larger red in the 24- to 26-inch range while tossing jigs tipped with shrimp.

Naples/Estero Bay:

Capt. Vince Hemingway fished North Naples on Tuesday with Steve and Jody Walters. First thing in the morning, there wasn't much in the way of water on the inside, so Vince went to one of the near shore artificial reefs, where there was plenty of action.

Using shrimp, Steve and Jody were kept busy with mangrove snappers and sheepshead. The snapper were running about 14 inches, and the sheepshead were all smaller. A number of undersized grouper were also caught and released. Once the tide started to fill up the inside waters, Capt. Hemingway went inside Wiggins Pass, where they were catching short reds and a couple of 20-inch snook, all on shrimp. Vince said the water inside looked like "green latte."

Ken Strassen of Master Bait and Tackle says that the fish in Estero are looking for the slightly warmer water on the lee side of islands and the east side of the bay.

Sheepshead, trout, reds and snook are all eating and presentation is either a shrimp on a jig or shrimp under a cork for the best results. A customer by the name of Mitch came in with a picture of a monster snook that he had caught earlier in the bay. It was a 44-inch monster that pulled his Ganoe around some. Near shore, Ken reports that Spanish mackerel are showing up occasionally, as well as some small sharks.

Fishing Report: Recent weather a preview of what to expect in the spring

Posted February 9, 2011

NAPLES — If you were lucky enough to be out on the water at the end of last week or over the weekend, you enjoyed a spring preview.

The water temperatures were in the mid- to upper-70s in the backcountry, and you could even work up a sweat raising the anchor. Winds have kept much of the inshore waters on the dirty side, and tides were real low in the morning and slow to come in. Fishing in the back bays was better later in the day when we had a little more water to fish, and the redfish continue to be the stars of the backcountry.

Trout have been around, but the larger ones are harder to find, and when you find them it's a one- or two-fish-per-spot situation. In the deep holes, sugar/silver trout are still willing to eat a shrimp, and the small sheepshead continue to steal baits. Another bright spot on the fishing horizon is that snook are beginning to show up on a fairly regular basis. We landed eight on one trip while fishing for reds. Nothing big, but they were nice to see. Also, I have heard of a couple of keeper pompano being landed off the beach by anglers fishing for whiting.

On the offshore front, there are fish out there, but there has been a lack of fishermen booking trips on the offshore boats. The one boat that has been out did quite well fishing for big amberjacks and snappers. Lots of catch and release groupers provide additional action for the anglers getting out to 80-90 feet of water. If you are interested in some of this action, check out the offshore boats down at Naples City Docks.

Ten Thousand Islands: Down in Everglades City, Capt. Pete Rapps had to delay a couple of trips until there was enough water in the bay to launch his boat. Once there was enough to float the boat, he and his anglers were off to the fishing.

He has had some real solid fishing days, and some others that were slower, but overall good fishing, even though the tides have been weak. Silver trout in the deep holes have fallen to a 3/8 bucktail type jig, with a little flash in the tail. The afternoons have provided the best action, and a little more water to navigate in. On a recent trip with anglers Joe and Jack, over a dozen reds and nine specs made it to the boat, along with a few snapper and "a ton of ladyfish."

Capt. Jack Thompson fished Friday and Saturday, catching mostly silver trout with a few specs thrown in. On Tuesday, he fished the wind-blown water, and his angler managed to put six reds in the boat, including one keeper. Jack says it is time for the pompano and large trout to start showing up in numbers.

Fishing out of Caxambas, Capt. Bill Jones has been seeing some occasional snook hitting jigs, with a few in the 28-to 31-inch range. Bill says you can tell that these fish have been in a deep hole in the back by their dark color. Trout and the rat reds make up most of the catch on most days, along with a good number of whiting. A couple from Chicago landed 15 specs on a recent trip with Capt. Bill.

NAPLESNaples/Estero Bay: Capt. Chris McCubbin says the trout fishing has been good one day and tough the next, with fish scattered. On Saturday, Chris was able to net some live bait, and he found some fish more than willing to eat it.

Back in the creeks, he used the three dozen live baits to catch some small snook and a lot of little reds. Poor tides have been a factor in fishing this past week, and Capt. McCubbin is looking forward to better water movement.

NAPLESUp in Estero, Capt. Steve Nagy says February fishing has provided some good days on the water, with reds being the mainstay on most trips. Fishing around islands and oyster bars with shrimp on a weighted hook and fishing very slow, he has been racking up some good catches. On a recent trip with Rob Tartaglia, they caught so many reds and sheepshead they lost count. Steve says better tides and rising water temperatures will bring even better fishing.

Offshore: Capt. Tom Robinson of the "Sea Legs" was one of the few boats out this past week. On a full-day trip with Pete Ferro, they headed out to a wreck in 90 feet of water, where Pete wrestled with amberjacks and boated them up to 35 pounds.

After that workout, they targeted mangrove snappers, and managed to put limits in the cooler. The mangs ran up to 20 inches. A number of red and gag grouper were caught and released. Capt. Robinson says the offshore water is beautiful, with clear water in the 70-degree range.

Fishing Report: Redfish are red hot

NAPLES — The weather of the past few days has put a smile on the faces of all our northern visitors, and the Chamber of Commerce as well.

With sunny days and highs approaching 80 this week, we should see a significant gain in water temperatures, which should help in the fish-catching department. Inshore, the water has cleared up since last week's big blow, and the improved water clarity has helped improve the trout bite.

Undersized trout are still accounting for the majority of the fish being caught, but some reports of larger fish are coming in. Trout over 20 inches are starting to show up, and will be a welcome change over the "shorties" we have seen since Jan. 1.

Our star attraction of the inshore waters continues to be the redfish. From south of Everglades City to Estero Bay and everywhere in between, the "rat" red brigades are providing a lot of anglers with great action. Catches of up to 40 or even 50 fish in a full-day outing are not rare.

The best bite has been on the incoming tides as the water starts to cover up some of the real estate that is created by the very low tides. Find an island, point, or oyster bar, and throw some version of a shrimp or tipped jig. Most of the fish are eating very lightly, but once you have caught one or two, it becomes much easier to hook them.

Sheepshead, black drum, and of course, ladyfish are all around to provide backup if the trout or reds aren't cooperating. Many anglers are saying that while they are catching an occasional big sheepshead, the real run of the big guys hasn't happened yet. Gary Frazier landed one of those big boys that went about six pounds last week. He was throwing a jig with a shrimp threaded on, and fishing a wooded bank.

The big boats have enjoyed the recent nice weather, and made the best of the last few days of red grouper season. Much of the action is taking place well offshore in 85 to 90 feet of water. With the red grouper action shut down until April,the offshore action will focus on snapper . Mangroves are around, and have been very willing to eat all the live shrimp you care to buy, but again the action seems to be farther offshore than we normally see. Perhaps warmer water will bring them a lot closer to the beach.

This Sunday through Wednesday, the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust will be putting on a presentation at the Conservancy. Supporters are urged to call 248-8380 for additional information.

Ten Thousand Islands: Fishing south of Everglades City, Capt. Brandon Acosta recently ran a two-day trip for a group of guys from Maryland. Brandon targeted quiet points and bars, where his anglers caught countless reds, mostly on the incoming tides. Using a shrimp-tipped jig, they caught fish after fish, and while most were shorts, they did get eight fish in the 19- to 26-inch range.

Capt. Aron Blaisdale fished on Tuesday with Tom Bost and his friend Frank from Pennsylvania, and "it was one of those magic days when fish were eating on both tides." Trout were making their presence known in the clearing water, and Aron's anglers got a "bunch," with a fair number in the 23- to 24-inch range. The bigger fish were in the shallower water, and were found one or two at a time. A shrimp-tipped jig worked on the reds, too, and Blaisdale said that Tom and Frank landed over 50 fish.

Naples/Estero Bay: On Friday, I fished with Mike Hicks, Mike Davies and Day Richard Davies in Estero for a half day. The water was extremely low first thing, and the fishing started slow. After catching a few short trout and the ever present ladyfish, we made a move to look for reds. In our remaining time, the group landed 19 of them, with one being a nice, 6 1/2-pound fish that was invited home for dinner. A shrimp on a jig did the trick.

Sunday, I fished with Bill Hickman, and we started out with just three dozen shrimp. Fishing was good. In a short time, we landed 29 reds, one flounder, three sheepshead and four ladyfish. Yes, that is 37 fish on three dozen shrimp, but we were cutting the shrimp in half as our supply dwindled.

Capt. Seth Hayes has been running his trips, and reporting the same kinds of fishing. His anglers are also getting a few trout, lots of ladyfish, and the occasional pompano. Good to see them start hitting again. But it is the redfish that make up the bulk of the catch, and they are great action.

Tomas Godlasky fished recently with Capt. Steve Nagy, and in addition to the above mentioned species, they caught several snook. As the water warms, the number of snook reports will grow significantly. Capt. Nagy is using Hybrid Flurry baits on a jig, as well as live shrimp. He is catching most of his trout using a shrimp under a popping cork, while working the grass flats.

Offshore: Onboard the "Sea Spirit," Capt. Bob Fisher took out a group from Ave Maria on Monday to target red grouper on the last day of the season. Bob ran out 35 miles to 90 feet of water to hit the keepers. And keepers they got, 10 of them up to 25 inches, using cut and live bait. Mangroves are out there, too, and you can get them using live shrimp, but some will also fall to a piece of cut sardine.

Capt. Mike Lucas took Joe Maley and his family out for a last shot at grouper. He found his fish in 85 feet of "beautiful" water, and they put seven up to 27 inches into the ice box. Mike also said there is a mixed bag of snappers to be had out there, and as the water temperature improves over the current 61 degrees, the snapper fishing should pick up.

Gulf grouper sport season closes Feb. 1

Posted January 26, 2011

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission advises anglers that the recreational harvest of all shallow-water groupers (gag, black, red, yellowfin, scamp, yellowmouth, rock hind and red hind) is prohibited from Feb. 1 through March 31 in all Gulf of Mexico state and federal waters off Florida, except in all waters of Monroe County, the Keys.

Closing the recreational harvest of all Gulf shallow-water grouper species for two months during the spawning season is designed to reduce overfishing of Gulf gag grouper by limiting the unintended catch and possible mortality of gag grouper to help rebuild its populations and achieve larger annual harvests in the future for this important species. Recreational gag grouper fishing has been closed in Gulf federal waters since Jan. 1.

More information regarding grouper fishing regulations, including the current shallow-water grouper closure in Atlantic and Monroe County waters, is available online at MyFWC.com/Rules (click on "Fishing – Saltwater").

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