I am getting a lot of inquires about snook fishing, and as of this date the snook fishery remains closed to harvest and is still catch and release only. I personally have not even fished or looked over areas for snook since most of my charters have been dedicated to red fishing and trout fishing. I have heard reports of some areas being better than others and most if not all of the populations are recovering at a slow pace.

Tarpon fishing is always on my radar and the season should be a good one. The weather has been mild and if it continues tarpon could see an early start. I have plenty of room on my books still but also have a lot of dates unavailable. tarpon fishing has become ever increasingly popular and I booking a lot earlier than normal.

It also seems that there are plenty of new and old guides trying to stake their claim as tarpon fishing guides. I made tarpon fishing a top priority over the last 14 years and spent every day April-August in the most fertile tarpon grounds in the area and some of the claims from other guides are a bit much. I know you have to start some where, just like I did, it was 1998 and I know a whole lot more now than I did back then. So a word to the wise when booking a high dollar tarpon charter do you home work. You can’t just come out of the flats fishing game and decide to be a tarpon guide it takes a lot of hard work and experience to put up numbers every day for 120 days straight. And I stake my reputation as a tarpon guide who catches fish consistently, experience is a determining factor. As one of my good friends and fellow Tarpon Fishing guide said recently “that’s why I put my name and phone number on my boat so when another guide comes up to me his clients know who actually found the Tarpon”.

Capt Andy Boyette
1-888-880-0006
www.GoFishCharters.com
www.TarponCharters.com
www.FortMyersFloridaFishing.com

Thank you to everyone who fished this season, the 2011 tarpon season was a with out a doubt one for the record books. Despite being a very successful season it did not come without difficulties. The tarpon had just about every advantage in their favor. Everyday was different and challenging while most of my trips where successful, I have to admit having some days totally shut out due to either weather or cooperation from the tarpon. It was the most demanding season I have ever fished in my career. The fishing required a new pattern almost daily with adjustments made throughout the day for success. I hopefully have learned some things that will make me a better angler and guide in the years ahead.
In the upcoming months I will be revising my rate schedule to reflect some additional trips that will be available for the 2012 tarpon season. My rates should remain the same but I will be adding some additional available trips to better accommodate everyone. BTW I have already begun booking a few 2012 trips so I look forward to hearing from you.

Flats Fishing Charters

I would also like to remind everyone that the fall and early spring fats fishing is just around the corner. Those of you who fished with me this past season learned that having a shallow running winter boat gets me on the fish. Anyone who doubts the 100 plus redfish and speckled trout fishing days that where spent on my boat this past season give me a call and i will put you in touch with clients that found pout first hand what having the right equipment can do.
Redfish have already begun to school up in some areas and the trout fishing will begin to pickup. It is also a note to the snook fishing that it will remain catch and release until another decision by the FWC in the fall of 2012.

Newsletters News
This year not only was I extremely busy I was very frustrated with the fact that several competitors where using my fishing reports and had some how managed to get on my mailing list. This fact prompted me to stop all reporting and newsletters. I have now gone through my list and removed them from my data base. It is my intent to keep my clients informed as much as possible. So with this you can expect me to resume the usual 6-8 newsletters a year .

I look forward to resuming writing fishing reports as well as seeing those that are planning to fish with me this fall. I still have a few tarpon trips left to do but am switching into flats fishing mode

Capt Andy Boyette
1-888-880-0006
Gofishcharters.com
Tarponcharters.com
FortMyersFloridaFishing.com

Redfish starting schooling a few weeks ago and this is the best time of the year to catch good numbers of “bull” redfish. These over sized reds are moving though the passes and schooling on the nearby grass flats. Any outside grass flat near the passes can hold a school of redfish this time of year. I’ve been mostly fishing the bars in Charlotte Harbor but Pine Island Sound and Lemon Bay are also holding good schools of redfish.

Even though the fishing charters are pretty slow right now I have been doing quite a bit of fishing to stay with the fall tarpon migration. The tarpon are following the bait schools and feed heavily to fuel their migration for the winter. Most of these tarpon are very large averaging over 100 pounds. I have been doing well with a variety of artificial lure and live baits. Live ladyfish and sardines hooking the most tarpon; with spoons, jigs and soft plastic swim baits producing as well. There are a number a locations that have been holding tarpon. Look for bait schools on the beaches outside of Boca Grande Pass, Captiva Island and Fort Myers Beach. You can also run into groups of migrating tarpon in the bays.

Fort Myers Fishing Forcast: The tarpon fishing is just about over. We may have no more than 2-3 weeks of good tarpon fishing before its over for the winter. Fishing for bull redfish should remain strong for the rest of the fall. The large schools of redfish should be around into early November. After that its mostly singles and small groups.

Flats Fishing And Back County Charters

During the winter I my run 22 foot Texas Shallow Sport fishing machine. This dry stable fishing platform allow me to access the shallowest of flats. As the winter months progress in to negative tides and extremely shallow flats where trout and reds are trapped in pot holes I have the right boat to access these areas, and score days where triple digit fish numbers are the norm. I am ah expert in the use of artificial lures. The majority of fishing from November to March is done with artificial lures. I have found that artificial lures out produce live bait during these months. This insures you are not dealing with long waits at the dock or cancellations due to the lack of or limited bait.

I also own a high end 24 foot bay bay boat for dry and comfortable Tarpon Fishing and near shore charters. Equipped with 4 stoke out board and state of the art electronics, including hi def and side and down scan imaging. I keep up to date tackle From Penn, G Loomis, Accurate Reels and American Rod Smith. I have both earned a reputation in the industry as proven veteran fishing guide with results. An extensive amount of information can be easily searched online or references provided on request, assuring you are hiring top full time fishing guide

Tarpon Fishing
GOT TARPON! The spawning season for tarpon may be over, but the summer season is just starting, from Charlotte Harbor to Fort Myers Florida, the summer tarpon fishing will be at its best. I always have my best tarpon fishing days in the summer, look for tarpon in Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island Sound and on the beaches, all the way to Fort Myers and throughout Southwest Florida. The fact that we have had no oil in our area and with oil north of here it is affecting the migration of tarpon and sending them back in the area THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS WILL BE AWESOME

Click here to view the embedded video.

Snook Fishing
Snook fishing despite the cold weather affects from earlier this year is very good and August-October should continue. Snook feed well during the spawn and the catch and release action has been really good with plenty of large Snook. These fish stage in areas close to the passes and are excited to see a live wells full of bait. The night time snook fishing around the lighted docks in Punta Gorda, Ft. Myers, Boca Grande Gasparilla to Sanibel and Captiva will have fantastic snook action and the night time temps are more fishing friendly to the anglers. Snook are still catch and release through September 1st as we wait to see if the State will reopen the harvest.

Redfish Fishing
Redfish fishing will heat up as late summer and early fall approach. The redfish will start to school up as they begin their annual spawn. Beginning in August and lasting well into October. Look for redfish to be on the outside of the bars where larger fish are maturing and venturing off into deeper water. Pinfish and sardines are key to success along with cut bait. Chumming well know areas on rising tides well activate these schools into a feeding frenzy where non stop action can be experienced. A tale-tale sign of this spawning occurrence is the shorter days leading into early fall.

Mangrove Snapper and Grouper
The near shore fishing action should pick up especially for mangrove snapper and grouper. Mangrove snapper will be found on the flats and in the passes. Fishing the Boca Grande and Captiva passes will no doubt reward the angler with a limit for the table. Light tackle and fluorocarbon leader is a must. The gag grouper in the keeper range will also be available and will require bigger tackle than the snapper.

The last 4 days we seen wind from the east at 15-20 with gust over 30 mph. I have been on some nice redfish on the eastern shore of an island in Pine Island sound. The redfish have respond well to artificial, as well as some cut lady fish, with some reaching the 7lb 27 inch mark. However there where less fish each day until finally today a big fat zero. I should have known they would leave but I was banking on at least one more day, which happens to be today.

Well let me tell you the last thing you want to have happen, has a guide is to have a new client that has never fished with you before, and spend a half day not catching more than a couple of fish. To make things even more interesting the new client was 6 year old Cody, his father, mother, and grandfather.

Well knowing I had a young man of this age on my boat today, I decided to catch some bait for the first time this year. After having spent a better part of a half day looking for the elusive redfish I had been catching and even striking out on trout and lady fish, I went for broke and put all my cards in on my reputation, and took a long run back from where I started the morning off.

Now let me repeat, I put all my cards in and went to a old snook fishing hole, since I had caught all this white bait, and not wanting to let Cody think the only fish to be caught was bait. I even had to run 3 miles out of the way to avoid the white cap chop on Charlotte Harbor to get to where I was going, talk about a long shot, this was it. But what I later found out was having Cody on your boat was like having a lucky charm in you pocket.

Charlotte Harbor Snook Fishing

Cody landed the first Snook at 8.5 lbs, and we caught about 20 or so more along with some keeper trout for dinner. Most of the snook where 4-6 lbs, the best part we caught fish every time I let Cody do the chumming. Cody it was a pleasure having you with me today you are a great young man and an awesome fisherman. The smile on your face and the conversations we had to day made me remember why I do this. Thanks for helping me remember why I became a fishing guide.

Capt Andy Boyette
1-888-880-0006
www.GoFishCharters.com
www.TarponCharters.com

Take A Young Person Fishing It will make you feel good.

The weather in Florida has been like a roller coaster with every kind of twist you could imagine. The fishing has been good on some days and not so good on others depends on which way the wind is coming from and anything with North in it is not good for me. Trout and redfish have been the main stays on my boat and on days that with light winds we put up good numbers on trout with some mixed in redfish. On the days prior to the never ending cold fronts with Southwest winds and higher tides I put up good numbers of redfish. And as earlier stated days with North winds I have struggled. The bait fish began to show up a few weeks ago but with low water temps I am still fishing mostly lures and jigs. This coming week I while begin looking for some early schooling tarpon, most of April for me is spent tarpon fishing but weather is and will always remain the deciding factor. The drought that has been plaguing Florida for the last few years seems to be diminishing, and we have been receiving quite a bit of rain. This is good news for the tarpon fishing as I suspect the crabs and harbor shrimp should begin to return to normal.

Mackerel began showing in the harbor as well as off the beach and the King Mackerel are being caught just south of here so hopefully this is a good indication that spring is finally here. The rest of this week should see temps in the lower 80s so a return to normal patterns is immerge. Tarpon should be close behind and I will being fishing for them this week. I still have some availability for the season but it is limited, this year season should be a good one.

A couple of redfish caught on a recent trip, the 2 reds together scored just over 15 lbs with one being 26 3/4 inch 8lb.

Fort Myers Redfish 8lb

Fort Myers Redfish 7lb

I will be adjusting the spring season slightly to target some less talked about species of fish including tripletail, pompano, kingfish and a few others.  All of which are excellent eating and attainable targets, with sportfish qualities. I have fished for these species throughout my life as a lifelong resident of the area, so snook fishing closure should only serve to bring more variety and enjoyment to my charters. I look forward to sharing the experience and excitement of fishing for a wider variety of Florida fish species with you this spring.

Tarpon Fishing Information
Everyone by now, knows that I am offering a 10 hour tarpon trip. I wanted to clarify a few things about the 6 hour trip, and the 10 hour trip since a lot of my clients have asked me numerous questions.

Most Importantly I will still be offering a 6 hour trip for those who only wish to fish for 6 hours.

The 6 hour tarpon trip will remain unchanged and it is your choice, a 6 hour morning session and/or a 6 hour early afternoon session.

The 10 hour trips is just as it sounds 10 hours. Below I will summarize as best I can, keep in mind if you book me for the 10 hour trip the day is devoted solely to you, not like when I have either a morning or afternoon trip to worry about. On a 10 hour split day trip, we fish part of the trip in the morning, take a break and come back out to fish the remainder of the trip. Typically split 6 hours and 4 hours. If we tarpon fish only I let the fish and/or the client decide if or when there is a break (we fish the best time). Also a client who has a 10 hour trip booked can request to fish for other species, which is not possible on a 6 hour tarpon trip since economics forces me to fish an afternoon trip. So basically on the 10 hour trip the day is yours and we can break it up however as the day and fishing dictates. We also don’t have to split the day up at all if there is a hot bite we will in all likelihood fish through.

Also if my schedule permits you can request to fish additional hours at $100.00 per hour. This will specifically come into play on a 10 hour trip as well as the afternoon 6 hour session. Last season (2009)saw some really good late fishing into the early evening, and I will be prepared with lighting and all necessary equipment to stay in to the early evening.

Spring Flats Fishing Information
I also want to touch on the effects of the cold winter weather we had in here Florida. You may be aware that the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issued an executive order on the harvest of snook, tarpon, and bonefish thru April. This was due to the potential damage that may have been done, due to the cold temperatures, and any affects it has had statewide on these subtropical fish.

*Anglers may still catch and release any and all of these fish during the closure.*
What this means is that you may still fish for any of these species but no one can harvest which means keep any of these species.

As a side note in recent history very few, mostly to use tarpon for bait, have been keeping tarpon , and in my 11 year career, thousands of tarpon have been caught and released on my charters, and I have never allowed or would allow one to be kept,  so the tarpon fishing will never be affected on my trips.

To touch on the snook fishing in the early spring, I have kept very limited numbers of snook in the past. Most of my clients that where looking to take home something to eat, understood the importance of the snook, and always focused on other species like trout and redfish for the table. So I would like to add that this will have limited affect on my charters, we will continue to fish as normal for snook, redfish, and trout with the only change being all snook caught go back to ensure a healthy stock for next season.

Capt Andy Boyette
www.gofishcharters.com
www.tarponcharters.com

With unprecedented continuous cold weather well below normal, and 2 nights of hard freeze, I have had to cancel all the trips I had scheduled over the past 10 days. Hope fully this weather event will clear out the middle of this week.

Today myself and a friend went on the water today. Our intent was to count any dead snook that we saw neither of us where prepared for what we saw. We targeted the north end of Pine Island and encountered thousands upon thousands of dead mullet most where 12 inches and under, they literally carpeted the bottom. We made are way into the 3 canals and counted over 1000 dead snook in less than a 1/4 mile of waterway, with 90% in the slot to overslot size (10-well over 25lbs). If there was any bright side to the snook kill we did not see any juvenile snook that were dead, unfortunately we only looked at a very small area. I have already gotten reports from numerous other guides with similar reports. This is no doubt a big set back to the snook fishery. You can see a video of the damage in the video section of my website http://gofishcharters.com/fishing_videos.htm

The trout fishing should remain unchanged since trout can tolerate the cold weather, same with the hardy redfish both of which have a range that extends well north of Southwest Florida. As of last night the Gulf water temperature was 50 and I would not doubt that it dropped a bit more with the coldest air last being last night. Tonight’s weather, while still cold for Florida, will hopefully stay out of the 30s and give a slight reprieve.

Tarpon fishing is around the corner (April-July) and I have been booking clients for sometime now. This year, I am in addition to the 6 hour tide charter, offering a 10 hour split day charter. On the 10 hour charter, the day is devoted solely to you, we fish part of the trip in the morning, take a break and come back out to fish the remainder of the trip. Typically split 6 hours and 4 hours. If we tarpon fish only I let the fish and/or the client decide if or when there is a break (we fish the best time). Also a client who has a 10 hour trip booked can request to fish for other species, which is not possible on a 6 hour trip since economics forces me to fish an afternoon trip. So basically the day is yours and we can break it up however as the day and fishing dictates. The response to the 10 hour tarpon charter has made me very excited about it. I would interject that this means less openings on my schedule so booking early will become more critical if you are planning to fish with me.

Capt Andy Boyette
1-888-880-0006
www.gofishcharters.com
www.tarponcharters.com

I have been booking a few new clients for tarpon season 2010. I expect with the amount of inquiries that after the holidays everyone will be getting their plans together since the majority of trips are booked over the next 6-8 weeks. Also in the my newsletter I made everyone aware of a new custom charter that is available for the upcoming tarpon season, if you did not see it I will be sending out another shortly. Newsletters are sent about 7-8 times per year to keep everyone up to date with the fishing in the area.

I hope everyone had a Great Thanksgiving as did I it was spent in the Mountains of North Carolina with my lovely Tammy and son Trevor at our camp. I would also like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Capt Andy Boyette
1-888-880-0006
www.gofishcharters.com
www.tarponcharters.com