Look for good tarpon action once the wind stops
Will the wind ever quit? That’s what anglers are scratching their heads wondering. It’s not a howling wind but just stiff enough to make tarpon fishing in open areas difficult and a real challenge for those looking to make long runs offshore.
Tarpon are here but the rough seas have kept them down and difficult to locate. Most of the tarpon fishing was restricted to inshore in the Sound, the Passes and along the beaches of Captiva and Cayo Costa that were protected from the southeast breeze. Time proven hot spots like north Captiva near Fosters Point, Captiva Rocks and the deeper grass beds west of Demere Key held fish most of the week. Live baits including large thread herring, pilchards and blue crabs was the better bait if fish were sighted on the surface and cut baits including mullet, ladyfish and catfish tails was a good choice when anchored if fish were not showing. Afternoon falling tides found pods of tarpon gathered in Captiva and Redfish Passes. Small crabs were flushed from the bay through the Passes on the falling water and while several tarpon were hooked on the crabs many Captains found tarpon more inclined to eat a live free lined large thread herring. Several gag grouper up to thirty inches were also caught in the Passes on tarpon baits.
Trout fishing was consistent all week with the better action coming over the incoming tide. Look for clear water for the larger fish; areas in the Sound and Matlacha Pass are getting pretty mucked up and no longer yielding fish as they have over the past few weeks. Trout are moving out to the beaches, fish around or near any type structure on the Gulf side and grass /sand areas inside the Passes. Trout fishing has also been good from Useppa Island north to Charlotte Harbor and around Bokeelia. The water quality has remained good in these areas with fish up to twenty-two inches holding over a mixed bottom in four to eight feet of water. Spanish mackerel and lots of small sharks up to four feet are also in these areas with the trout. While we primarily fish live pilchards for trout on my boat we caught just as many and of equal size on a quarter ounce red jig head with a white Salt Water Assassin soft jerk shad over the week.
Redfish, where are the redfish? Either you are catching them or you aren’t. Good afternoon high tides gave the perfect scenario for targeting fish under the mangroves and over oyster bars. I did not receive many reports on redfish, just a few reporting fish around oyster bars and shorelines around Useppa Island and Cabbage Key. Also the eastern shoreline of Charlotte Harbor near Burnt Store Marina gave up redfish at the top of the tide near tidal creeks and oyster bars. Every time we attempted to catch a red we could only find snook, not a bad thing and they are always a blast. We caught several big snook up to thirty-three inches, large back busting jack crevalles, and trout up to twenty-four in our redfish holes but no redfish.
When the wind allowed, fishing reports were good offshore. Big gag and red grouper along with large scamp and snapper were caught sixty to seventy miles southwest of Sanibel. In closer just within sight of Sanibel a mess of gags up to thirty inches were caught along with mangrove snapper and a couple scamp while fishing ledges.
Tarpon fishermen are chomping at the bit for a week of light or no wind days. The fish are here with more arriving daily, but they just don’t get concentrated and are hard to locate when the seas are rough. One thing is for sure when we do get those calm days you are gonna see some happy anglers and great tarpon fishing.
If you a have a fishing report or for charter information, please contact us at:
Phone: 239-283-7960
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Have a safe week and good fishin’.