Naples Fishing Report September

Fishing Report: Action remains strong with redfish, snook, snapper

While we might have a shortage of fishermen (and women) right now, and a good many captains are waiting to hear the phone ring, we certainly don't have a shortage of fish in most areas.

As stated in last week's report, the redfish have started to appear in force. If you are in the right place at the right time, you might see a school of up to 100 fish move down the beach. As for size, the fish are ranging from short "rat reds" in the 14- to 17-inch range, all the way up to over-sized fish well over 30 inches. These fish are being caught on shrimp, live bait, cut bait, surface lures, and jigs, but they are moving around, and may not be where "we really nailed them yesterday."

Snook can be found in good numbers in the North Naples/Estero Bay area down to Marco Island, and then in the Ten Thousand Islands south of Everglades City. We still have very few snook being reported in the Goodland to West Pass area. A lot of the snook are small juveniles, but there are enough of the "big girls" around to cause a panic when they crash a bait. With live bait thick on the beaches and in the bays, a good many fish are being caught by following the schools of bait. Trout, snook, redfish, ladyfish, and mackerel will be found filling up on this river of bait.

Tarpon have been reported off the beaches in water ranging from eight to 20 feet deep. Look for them in the early mornings to be rolling, and hopefully feeding. These fish range from about 50 pounds to over 100, and a lot of them are feeding on the huge schools of small Spanish mackerel and ladyfish.

While grouper are still a key target fish offshore, this week, mangrove snapper seem to share the headlines with yellowtail snapper. Nice-sized mangroves are being pulled off the near shore reefs, and really large fish are coming off the deeper water wrecks. Mother Nature had been cooperating with the offshore anglers by providing mellow east winds for the last week or so, but on Tuesday she kicked the wind up to the 20-knot level, which makes for a less than comfortable ride.

Kingfish and sharks are also enjoying the seafood buffet, and can be caught using live and cut bait. Try a chunk on the bottom while you fish a free-lined bait off the back.

Offshore:

Capt. John Dant fished with Jerry Gibson and family on Saturday, and they went home with a sunburn and a bunch of fish to eat.

Fishing in about 30 feet of water, Capt. Dant put his group on a school of snapper that were willing to eat a live bait. In addition to 20 keeper mangrove snapper and short red grouper, they were harassed by a group of 30- to 50-pound goliath groupers that wanted to eat snapper, too! John says that they also saw a lot of barracuda around the boat, but didn't hook up on any of the toothy critters.

On Monday and Tuesday, Capt. Tommy Robinson hosted the Pete Ferro group for some offshore fishing. On Monday, the group quickly put a limit of red groupers in the ice box, and then switched to mangrove snapper. Tommy found a lot of mangroves up to 19 inches on an area of open hard bottom.

Tuesday morning looked nice enough, and Capt. Tom headed for about 90 feet of water, and some fantastic mangrove and yellowtail action. They were hooking fish after fish up to 24 inches, but the challenge was to keep the hooked fish away from a school of goliath grouper. These goliaths ranged from about 50 to 250 pounds, and they were literally following the snapper to the surface, and then fighting each other for the hooked fish.

Mangroves that tended to dive down were quickly devoured by the oversized goliaths, but the yellowtail were easier to boat since they stayed closer to the surface. Live white bait did the trick, and the water was clean with visibility of up to 40 feet.

Ten Thousand Islands: Running out of Goodland, Capt. Jack Thompson took out Gary Mesnick and friend for some inshore fishing recently. Using tipped jigs, they caught trout, pompano, and mackerel. The catch of the day was a 30-inch snook that was cameral shy, and got off at the boat. Capt. Jack reports that the water had been fairly clean, but the recent wind would dirty things up for a bit.

Capt. Shane Miller says that fishing in the Goodland to Cape Romano area has been a day-to-day thing, with conditions and fishing changing frequently. On Friday, bait was difficult to get, but on Sunday, Shane netted a good amount of bait. Friday's catching was on the slow side, and by Sunday, his group landed 12 snook, three mid-slot redfish, and quite a few undersized reds.

Down in Everglades City, Capt. Becky Campbell had back-to-back great fishing this weekend.

On day one, she took Allen, Abbey, and Lisa Roberts down to the area around Lostmans River and the Broad River. Using shrimp and pinfish, her crew nailed 38 reds, which ranged from small guys to oversized 31-inch fish. They also caught 31 trout, two pompano, seven jacks, three sharks, and three snook. Not bad!

The next day, the other half of the Roberts crew -- Gary, Lisa, and Alexis -- were aboard for their turn at inshore fishing, and their totals were just as astonishing: 44 trout, two snook, 28 reds, two mackerel, 11 jacks, and three sharks! Way to go!

Naples/Estero Bay: Capt. Jeff Legutki fished out of Gordons Pass recently, with Tom Shadly of Mangrove Outfitters, and they had quite the day. Using a combination of jigs, plugs, and flies, they landed lots of big Spanish mackerel in the six- to seven-pound range.

Jeff states that snook are all over the beach, and willing to take artificials. Along with the snook, he is catching reds from the schools moving down the beach. It was Tom's birthday, and he celebrated by landing a 31-inch red on a fly. Better than a cake.

"Tarpon are on the beaches," according to Capt. Chris McCubbin. Look for them anywhere from just off the sand to about 20 feet of water. Try using a small live ladyfish for bait, or a chunk of mackerel on the bottom. They are feeding on the large schools of both types of fish found just offshore.

Chris has also been hitting big reds in the 30- to 34-inch range as they cruise the beaches. In the back bays, he is getting a number of nice upper slot-sized reds. He reports that the water temperature is now in the 84- to 85-degree range, and water quality good.

Estero Bay is also holding redfish and snook. In the past couple of days, I have been catching quite a few smaller snook and picking off a redfish or two each trip. On Tuesday, the catch of the day was a nice, 10-pound red caught in about 15 inches of water on a small pilchard. Large jacks in the 8- to 10-pound range are also roaming the banks, and after a couple of those, you are ready for a break. Bait is all over the beach and in the bay.

If you have a report to share, send it to captsnookus@hotmail.com

Fishing Report: Redfish action getting red hot

NAPLES — The big news recently was the announcement by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that the snook season will remain closed for the west coast of Florida until at least next year.

I know there are a lot of anglers out there who will miss taking home some tasty fillets this year, but snook are a tremendous resource, and we need to make sure there are plenty around for our kids and grandkids.

If you didn't get to witness the thousands of dead fish last winter, you might think this closure is excessive, but there are many areas where there are literally no snook to be caught.

On the bright side, inshore reports of redfish catches are on the increase, and the fish are ranging from the little 15-inchers to the big oversized fish ranging along many outside points. Apparently, these fish are hungry and willing to eat most anything put in front of them.

Live bait, cut bait, live shrimp, and untipped jigs have been producing fish from down in the Ten Thousand Islands, up through Marco and Naples, and into Estero Bay. Water temperatures have finally dropped to 85 degrees or less, which give the fish a little more oxygen in the water, and along with it a better appetite.

Trout, lady fish, snook, and some feisty jack crevelle have also been active recently, along with the occasional tarpon. Bait has been generally available from Marco north, but can be difficult to net on the beach with the breaking rollers we have seen the last few days.

Offshore, kingfish up to 40 pounds are hitting a variety of baits, but one of the best techniques is to freeline a live thread or pilchard behind the boat while fishing for grouper and snapper.

Make sure the drag is set lightly because when a big king hits, it is moving so fast that a tight drag will result in a lost fish due to a broken line or a pulled hook. Bait pods are numerous in the 15- to 18-mile range and you can easily sabiki enough live bait for your needs, and don't be surprised to find kings in the area, too.

Look for frigate birds working the area. Don't forget to put a box of frozen sardines in the chest before you leave the dock just in case.

Red grouper are still pleasing anglers, but the numbers are down some from previous weeks. Plenty of Spanish mackerel and small sharks are around to keep rods bent, at least until they cut the line. Try a longer shank hook if you keep getting cut off and don't want to go to wire.

Ten Thousand Islands: Here come the redfish, according to Capt. Rob Walczak, who fished three days recently out of Goodland.

Using a combination of live bait and jigs, his anglers have been landing fish from undersized to over the slot size. On one day they landed six in the slot, eight oversized, and a bunch of shorts. Another surprise for this time of year is the four flounder hooked and landed. Rob also says there are a number of good-sized trout to be had, as well as a few mangrove snapper. This past weekend, the tides were extremely high, and the water dirty in the Goodland area.

Fishing out of Caxambas Pass, Capt. Bill Jones was looking for some tarpon willing to eat a chunk of bait, when his anglers caught two jumbo snook. Frankie "the Yankee" and Tony caught a 38-inch and a 40-inch snook. On Saturday, Capt. Bill put a few small reds in the boat, as well as a few trout. His anglers were "three guys from Chicago," and they had a great time.

Naples to Estero Bay: Capt. Pat Gould, fishing recently out of Bayview Park, has been finding a good number of snook on trips.

Most have been in the 22- to 24-inch range, but a 31-incher made an appearance this weekend. With the wind on Saturday, Pat fished in or around the passes, where in addition to the snook, he found a few smaller reds and snapper, and roving schools of jack crevelle.

The water has a stained look about it on both ends of the tide, but the temps have dropped to below 85 degrees. Capt. Gould also asked me to report the closing of Bayview Park facilities from Sept. 13 to Dec. 31. Major improvements are planned.

Up in Estero Bay, Capt. Mike McDonald states the redfish are biting on live shrimp. He is rigging them on a Texas rig and letting the reds pick up the shrimp and run. On Monday, his anglers landed six in the 21- to 26-inch range, and five on Tuesday ranging from 18 to 24 inches. Mike says there are still a lot of trout around, and while fishing for them over the grass, he watched another boat fight an estimated 20-pound tarpon. The water is dirty and about 83 degrees.

On a couple of recent trips, Capt. Steve Nagy has put his anglers on some baby tarpon, and they managed to land one each day. These fish range from 10 to 20 pounds, and when they feel like it, they will eat almost any live bait. Trout and small reds are being caught on the grass, using either live bait or DOA shrimp under a Cajun Thunder float. Using this technique, Larry Heinz and his wife Diana enjoyed catching reds and trout on Tuesday.

Offshore: Capt. Mike Lucas, on board the "Barracuda," ran a recent half-day trip and ran out to 35 feet of water, where they found an assortment of fish to keep anglers busy. Lane snapper, grunts, and red grouper were willing to take the cut sardines offered. They ended the trip with a nice keeper red grouper in the box. Mike says the water was nice.

Ron Glass and Peter Jobs signed up for a three-quarter-day trip with Capt. Brant Keller of the "Saltwater Cowboys." and they headed out to the kingfish grounds. where they found many willing grouper and lane snapper.

On the way out. they stopped and used a sabiki rig to fill the live well with fresh bait. While bouncing baits on the bottom. Brant set out a free-lined bait off the stern, and a huge king tried to go to Mexico with it. After an exciting fight, the 40-pound smoker was landed. Capt. Brant reminds us to look for working frigate birds over schools of bait. Something big is likely lurking below.

UPDATE: Snook fishing closed until next September in Southwest Fla.By ERIC STAATS