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More Fishing

• Fishing Report: Fall tarpon run begins
• Fishing: Hill finally reaches top of Redsnook
• Farmworkers’ children get chance to tackle new skill -- fishing

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It has been a very good week for the backwater fishermen as balls of tiny baitfish washed into the back bays from Estero Bay all the way to Lostmans River, and there they were greeted by hordes of hungry snook, redfish, mackerel and tarpon.

I fished both Wiggins Pass and Goodland, and in both areas there was no question as to where the fish were. The bait looked like rain, the snook were popping, the mackerel flying and the tarpon rolling.

In the North Naples area, the waters are very clear. It is easy to see the fish, but the catching can be difficult. Anglers need long casts so as not to spook the fish, and even then, the snook tend to see the hooks or leaders and often run from the lures instead of after them.

Conditions are more ideal south of Marco Island. The water is cloudy but not dirty, and the snook are gobbling both baits and lures. The outside points and islands are loaded with snook and redfish, as well as schools of large Spanish mackerel that have followed the bait into the backwaters. Just offshore, there are tarpon and sharks, and in the back bays, there are more snook and redfish along with a few juvenile tarpon.

Essentially, there are fish everywhere.

The sudden bait run is what sparked this great fishing, and it is what most local fishermen have been waiting for all spring. It is several weeks late in coming, but now that it has started, there should be great fishing right into the summer.

-- NAPLES: There are small baitfish pouring into Gordon Pass, and larger baitfish on the wrecks just offshore. If you bring these two together, it can lead to an excellent morning of fishing.

Snook, jacks and big tarpon are all eating the masses of tiny bait in the mouths of the passes early in the morning. The fish can be easily spotted by the surface activity, and if a larger bait is tossed into this fracas, it is not ignored.

Just inside the pass there is more bait and more snook along with a few scattered redfish, and in the Naples/Marco channel, there are, of course, more snook and redfish plus some baby tarpon

Just off of the beaches, there are schools of mackerel, large tarpon and some very big sharks, and out on the artificial reefs there even a few permit and cobia.

-- MARCO ISLAND: I talked with both Capt. Stacy Mullendore and Matt Hoover on Monday, and both guides were enthused about the fishing. It had been a windy, stagnant spring until this past week when the winds subsided, the bait poured in and the snook started to feed like they had never eaten before.

The south end of Marco Island is providing excellent action on the incoming tide. The waters are very clear, but the fish keep taking baits.

The action is just as good, if not better, farther south as schools of bait wash into areas that have supported very little food this entire spring. The fish are feeding in all areas, but the best action seems to be on the outside wherever the bait is trapped. Schools of snook, snapper, Spanish mackerel and redfish are all gathered together under the bait.

The waters calmed considerably Monday, and that allowed the tarpon hunter to finally get offshore and look for tarpon. Initial reports that I heard were that the fish were scattered and there were more sharks than tarpon, but some tarpon were seen.

-- EVERGLADES CITY: Capt. Larry Regienczuk fished Friday and Saturday with Dan and Scott Olson and their friend Dave, and the trio landed 30 snook on Friday along with trout, snapper, mackerel and a six pound redfish.

On Saturday, they boated another 20 snook in the morning, before trying some tarpon fishing in the afternoon. They did not manage to find any tarpon, but they did hook into two large hammerhead sharks, a lemon shark and numerous blacktip sharks.

Regienczuk said that the fishing right now is as good as it has been all spring. The sudden influx of bait has really turned the snook, mackerel, and snapper on. Redfish are still relatively rare and the tarpon are scarce, but in general, the action is excellent.

-- WIGGINS PASS: Capt. John Vest of Fishtrap Marina has been catching lots of trout both in Estero Bay and just outside of New Pass. Vest said that the water is very clear and there is bait everywhere, and these are ideal conditions for trout fishing. Vest said that many of the trout were large fish up to and over 20 inches.

There are also snook and schools of jacks all along the beaches and a few redfish on the backside of the bay under the mangroves. The action is best wherever the bait is gathered.

Offshore, the tarpon fishing has not been that good, but there have been some big fish right in Big Carlos Pass on the incoming tide. There are more tarpon and some oversized snook in this same area at night.

-- FRESHWATER: Jess Edwards of the Golden Gate Tackle Box was glad to get some rain this week. The rain has cooled the waters and added oxygen, but there is still not enough water to get the canals flowing. Vest said that it will take a week or two of steady afternoon rains to push the water over the weirs.

Vest suggested that the best bass fishing is at the Big “T” and south blocks area, and that anglers should fish early and late or right after a storm when conditions are the coolest. Slow moving plastic worms are the best lures.

There is also good panfish action out along Alligator Alley as the bluegill move onto their beds to spawn.

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E-mail John Preeg at captjohnpreeg@aol.com