Fort Myers fishing Report 9-26-18

Fishing this week has proven to be VERY good in Fort Myers, and Sanibel Area. We are still dealing with unfavorable conditions in our area, but on my most recent charters we have been catching quality fish each time while inshore fishing in Fort Myers. September historically is one of the best months to target redfish, that has been true for this September as well. Be prepared to make long runs to get away from the red tide, but the good news is when you get there the fish have been hungry and ready to eat. On the higher tides ive fished mangrove shorelines and oyster beds with good success. Pinfish has been the go to bait which is typical for this time of year. Use a 3/0 to 4/0 circle hook on a 24′ piece of 30lb fluorocarbon leader. Strictly speaking DO NOT use swivels on your leader, tie a direct leader to line knot with a double uni knot. In my experience fishing in Estero Bay and many other places is you will not get bites with any unnecessary terminal tackle hanging on the line. Pinfish are a little challenging to find since there are only a few areas with clean water. Your best bet is to find a grass flat in about 3ft of water and start chumming! Hope this report and info i shared helps you get out on the water and catch fish despite any bad reports or conditions!

Capt Mark Yimin

www.ca

Fort Myers Fishing Charter 9-15-18

I have good news for anglers in my report this week! Estero Bay is RED TIDE FREE!!!! We have been plagued in the bay by bad water conditions as of late but it has been steadily improving. This past week bait stayed alive all day, and the fish responded well. I believe they are hungry since they haven’t had much food since the bad conditions hurt our bait fish population. We have been catching over-slot red fish and good size Snook in their normal spots. Bait is tough to find but manageable, you can still find ok numbers of pins on the flats and there is white bait mixed in as well. If all else fails cut bait has been working very well also. Get out and book a charter, our state needs the tourism money this year more than ever!

Fort Myers Fishing Report 8-20-18

Horrific conditions, but still catching fish! There has been a pattern developing recently with my charters. Run to get clean water and bait. Run back to pick up clients, then run back again to clean water! Yes its a lot of work but worth the extra hassle considering i am one of the few guides fishing and still catching fish. The bait of choice on my Fort Myers fishing charters this time of year is pinfish. The perception is always to get white bait or pilchards despite the time of year, i have found pinfish in the summer time more productive at finding good fish. White bait this time of year seems to get destroyed by the hoards of Snapper before a Redfish or Snook or Jack can eat it. The water where we’ve been fishing is mainly fresh water and consequently my clients have been asking if the water being “dirty” was because of the red tide. In this instance it isn’t actually dirty but rather is loaded with tannin acid giving it the appearance of being dark.  The fish caught on recent trips have been redfish jacks and snapper. Depending on the tide we’ve found them on mangrove shorelines as well as oyster beds and flats. Don’t let the challenging conditions scare you away from booking a trip with a guide of just going out and finding fish on the weekend by yourself.

Fort Myers Fishing Report 8-17-18

I have been asked quite a bit lately whether or not the fishing is good and if we have been catching anything with all the red tide and algae going on right now. The answer to that question is YES. No the water is not ideal, yes i wish it was better, but there is still fish around if you know where to look and bait as well. On my most Fort Myers fishing charters we have been catching Redfish, Snapper, Jacks and even small Tarpon are around. I have strictly been fishing inshore on my fishing charters as there is red tide nearshore as well. Bait is on the flats, some days you have to run to the areas with clean water and then run back to get your bait. Again not ideal but definitely doable. The guides willing to put in the time and effort to make it happen have been rewarded.  There is very little boat traffic even on the weekends and the fish when you find them have responded well. My most recent trip we ran out of bait catching snapper, Redfish and jacks so we switched to artificial lures and continued to catch fish. The moral of the story is call your guide and ask them whats going on and if the trip is possible instead of assuming its a waste and not worth it. This will all pass soon and the fishing will start to rebound, stay positive and keep moving forward!

Fort Myers Fishing Report 8-8-18

Our area has seen some very challenging issues recently making it difficult to find fish. Red tide is still present and really has no end in sight as of now. That’s the bad news, the good news is, we can still find fish! I have been fortunate this week to be able to find clean fish-able water that also has bait available. My bait of choice this time of year is pinfish. They can typically be found fairly easily by chumming a grass flat in about 2-3ft of water. Some of the fish we have caught this week have been Redfish, Snook, Snapper and Jacks. When considering a guide to hire it is important to hire the one that will go the extra mile to put you on fish. That very task was not easy for me lately, having to run eight miles just to find clean water, then back eight miles to pick up clients, then back again to fish the clean area! The “moral of the story” is that if you are willing to put the work in and time there is still fish to be caught and memories to be made!

Capt Mark Yimin

www.calusafishing.com

Snook fishing in Southwest Florida really gets good when the water becomes warm from the long days of summer. This is the time of year the big females are cruising the beaches and passes. There is no better time of year to target a trophy Snook than right now, during the full moon cycles they spawn and typically are doing it (no pun intended) in passes and structure close to shore. Making it easier to target them. Fish will use the full moon as a time to spawn for the reason that the tides are stronger and nature will naturally carry their eggs further and with less effort on their part. As a general rule of thumb i use pinfish a lot this time of year, especially with Snook since the pinfish will go straight to the bottom where they will be. Jigheads, circle hooks, and a combination of live bait hooks will all work, tackle needs to beefed up a little since you are typically fishing them around structure and the fish are very strong. My tip is to start small, 30lb leader, 15lb braid, with a typical inshore rod. Then if i get broken off i scale up to larger tarpon rods with 60lb leader and slightly larger hooks. Pinfish can be found on any grass flat this time of year and the easiest way to get enough for the day is using chum and your favorite Calusa Cast Net. So if you want a shot at a trophy Snook this is the time to book a trip!