Fishing Report

Libby showing off a nice Estero Bay pompano.

Fishing in both the backcountry and Gulf waters near Fort Myers Beach has been very productive.  Getting out early in the morning is best to beat the late morning heat and the afternoon thunderstorms.

There’s been plenty of live shiners along the beaches and near the passes.  Just keep your eyes open and a cast net on standby.  The schools can pop up just about anywhere.  The threadfin herrings are stacked up on the nearshore reefs.  The Gulf water has cleared quite a bit, so the cast net is tough to use without spooking them.  Go with a sabiki rig for best results.

Speaking of the reef.  The spanish mackerel are everywhere and hungry.  Live bait, live shrimp or shiny artificials will all work.  Heck, it’s tough to get a bait past them if you’re searching for snapper or grouper off the bottom.  The passes are also loaded with macs.  There are ladyfish and small jacks mixed in, which we’ve been keeping and using for shark bait.  You’ll find the toothy creatures in about 14 feet of water.  Anchor up, chum up and be patient.  They’ll show up in pretty good numbers once the smell works it’s magic.

The redfish bite in Estero Bay remains good but you have to get on them early.  Once the heat of the day sets in, they pretty much disappear.  We’ve been getting them close to the mangrove edges using live shrimp under popping corks and cut ladyfish on the bottom.  There’s been a mix of flounder, trout, black drum and keeper size snapper in the same areas.

Sea trout are on the open grass flats.  Live or artificial shrimp under corks has been the go-to.  Start looking for them in about 3 feet of water and as the day heats up, move out a bit deeper.  We’ve caught quite few nice ones in 5 plus feet in the afternoon.  You might even get a nice surprise from a big pompano!

Vacation In The Florida Keys

JoNell and I packed up the Jeep and headed down to the Florida Keys for a week’s vacation on Marathon.  We were invited to stay there with friends Alex Dolinski and his wife Brenda over the 4th of July holiday.  Alex rents a house near Vaca Cut for a month to run charters out to the deep blue for mahi-mahi, wahoo, sailfish, marlin and whatever else may show up in the trolled spread.  He blocked out time for us to fish, dine and enjoy a break playing on and in the clear water. 

I know what some of you are thinking.  “You took a vacation from fishing to go fishing?”  Right.  I did.  You have to understand, I take people fishing and usually don’t get to wet a line myself.  Don’t worry there are also plenty of other things to do while in the Keys.



The house Alex rented was perfect.  Lots of room for everyone (Alex’s daughter Danielle  was there and Ken, the owner of Master Bait and Tackle visited for a few days) and right on the water with a view of the Atlantic Ocean.  The dock and deck was big enough to accommodate the boat, a Venture 34, and lots of porch chairs for evening cocktails and cigars.  Speaking of the boat.  The Venture was on loan from Andy, a friend of Alex’s.  What a nice ride.  Big and roomy with a tower for spotting fish and a head (bathroom) for the ladies.  Fully equipped with all the electronics you could ask for and enough rod holders for 39 rods.  Hmm... might need ‘em you never know.


We plotted the next day’s strategy each evening and then set out just after sunup.  We’d motor out to where the water turned from sea green to a deep blue.  The depth was from about 700 to 1000 feet.  Trolling was the go-to tactic and I got a crash course on how to rig trolled ballyhoo and how to set outriggers.  I’ve got to tell you, Alex is a great instructor.  Once the baits were set it was time to watch for birds and weed lines.  I soon found that Brenda has the best eyes for spotting birds.  She almost always seemed to see them long before the rest of us did.  The trick to trolling is to get the baits near the birds and weed lines in hopes of finding a hungry fish.  Baits tend to hang out near the flotsam for protection.  The birds find the bait and also follow moving fish.  It’s a pretty amazing food chain.

Alex had already warned us that this particular year had been slower than most.  No one seemed sure why, but the consensus was the overly warm winter might have something to do with it.  He was right.  It was slow, but when we did hook a fish it was almost always an event!  The highlights...  JoNell’s 30 pound mahi along with quite a few in the 12 to 15 pound range for the rest of us.  We even managed to get a 22 pound wahoo, the first I’d ever seen or had the pleasure of eating.

When we weren’t fishing we were relaxing or eating or drinking or... all of the above.

  We hit quite a few places for lunch and dinner but my favorites were the Lazy Days Restaurant in Marathon and the No Name Pub on Big Pine Key.  

The Lazy Days was right on the water and had a chef that obviously knew what he was doing.  They also had a “cook your catch” menu that was right up our alley.  We caught fresh fish, but who wants to cook while on vacation?  On two different occasions we took mahi and wahoo there for a seafood feast.  Wonderful!  

The No Name Pub is one of those places you have to visit while in the lower Keys, but only if you can find it.  Seriously.  Their slogan is “ a nice place if you can find it”.  They aren’t kidding.  A GPS certainly comes in handy.  Once found there are a couple of things on the menu you need to try.  Number one, the Caribbean wings.  Oh my.  I’m a self proclaimed buffalo wing nut and these were the best I’ve ever had.  Number two the pizza.  They have delicious pizza.  I don’t know why a little bar in the middle of nowhere with “no name” has great pizza, but just go with it.  You won’t regret it.


Toward the end of the week JoNell and I opted out of fishing and headed down to Key West.  We made a stop at Schooner’s Wharf to listen to Michael McCloud, Mango’s for lunch, the Hemingway House to visit the 6-toed cats, Kelly’s Bar and Grill for tacky frozen tourist drinks and a couple of cigar factories.   It was a fun, relaxing day and good to be back in a place that has so many good memories for the two of us.


Back in Marathon we caught more fish, went snorkeling at Sombrero Reef, ate more food, drank more drinks and watched the 4th of July fireworks from the boat.  Thanks much to our hosts Alex and Brenda for a great time.  That was fun!

July Fishing Report

Mid summer is already here and that means showers will occur almost each and every afternoon from now through September. The good news is, the mornings are usually rain free with light breezes and cooler temperatures. Work the mangroves of the backcountry early and then move out to the Gulf waters in the late morning. That will give you a break from the heat and the best opportunity to catch fish.

The nearshore Gulf rock piles and reefs are producing a nice mixed bag of fish. Spanish mackerel are leading the way and will take small bait offerings on jigs as well as just about any artificial that's flashy. You'll also get trout, pompano, grunts and sheepshead. For the latter you'll need to get through the macs. Cast away from the boat, leave the bail of the reel open and let the jig slowly sink to the bottom. Then retrieve the offering slowly across the bottom.

Grouper and mangrove snapper are also in the mix. We've been dropping wighted cut baits on circle hooks to the bottom. A stout rod is a good idea and be prepared for the unexpected. There are some big goliath grouper hanging out in less than 20 feet of water along with lemon, hammerhead and blacktip sharks.

In Estero Bay the redfish have been sparse but still doable if you get out early. We've only been getting 2 to 4 per trip but they have all been mid to upper slot fish. Live shrimp under a cork works well and helps cover a lot of ground. Once we locate a red I've been switching to cut ladyfish on circle hooks. The smell will usually bring in another fish or two and may even produce a nice snook.

In the ‘fun fish' category... Keep your eyes open for big jacks busting bait on the surface. They are schooling up early and late in the day and love a fast moving artificial bait imitation.