Fort Myers Fishing, Red Fish And Tarpon Fishing Report

Capt. Andy Boyette/Go Fish Charters — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:11:47 +0000

The redfish fishing as been very good in the Fort Myers area. I have been catching good numbers of redfish on my fishing charters all this month. There are schools of reds on most every flat on low tide in Pine Island Sound. The fish are staging waiting on the rising tide and then moving up to shorelines and the mangrove islands. While most anglers fishing chose to wait until the later you will have just as good success if you can assess some of the low bottom areas that make up most of the Fort Myers Fishing grounds. Theses areas are exposed at low and particularly negative tide. Once this happens the crustaceans and other food source come out of the mud, once the water rises back over these flats the redfish move in and begin eating as they forage across the flat.

The best tactic for shallow water red fishing is to stage your boat in an area near a exposed flat. Watch for any movement in the water pattern. It is especially helpful when other boats run near an area you are working since it exposes the location of the school. Waiting for the school to come to you is an all important factor to learn. A slow approach and a working the area over thoroughly will bend plenty of rods on the boat. Any crab or shrimp imitation will prove to be effective, long distance casting is a must. I will usually spend a good 20 -30 minutes covering 1/4 to 1/2 mile of flat. Setting the boat up to use the wind to your advantage is a must, with the least amount of trolling motor as possible. Light spinning gear with 8lb braided line with 1/8 and 1/4 ounce jig heads should be all that is required for success.

I went with another guide recently and seen targetable numbers of tarpon in a migration route. With the warm weather pattern that has dominated Fort Myers and the rest of the country An early spring pattern will give way to an early tarpon season. I expect to put up some numbers well ahead of schedule this tarpon season. I have a few dates left in June and fewer in May that are available. I have ample room in April to book and April has typically been a good month for me since I have targeted tarpon early for many years. This April should be phenomenal and allow for those who are here an opportunity to catch a BIG TARPON.

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

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:
Redfish will continue to be good as the bait schools arrive, keeper Speckled Trout with catches over the 20 inch mark, and an early arrival of BIG TARPON

Florida Snook Hard Hit with Cold Weather Includes Video

Capt. Andy Boyette/Go Fish Charters — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:16:39 +0000

*UpDate*
I spent a full day on 1/14/2010
and found numerous schools of snook alive and well in marina basins, deep water canals, as well as cruising the shoreline in and around Boca Grande Pass as well as Captiva Pass. I also looked throughout Charlotte Harbor, including the mouth of both the Peace and Myakka Rivers and could find no other areas as hard hit.

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

Florida Fishing Report Florida Fishing Charters For Tarpon, Snook, Red Fish. From Boca Grande, Fort Myers, Sanibel, Punta Gorda » Pine Island Florida

Fort Myers Fishing, Red Fish And Tarpon Fishing Report

Florida Snook Hard Hit with Cold Weather Includes Video