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!