STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

More Attractions and Activities News

• Local racing: Germain team sends three to Kentucky Speedway
• Fishing Report: Rains alter fishing
• Recreation: Rodeo arena at Collier fairgrounds opens this weekend

Share and Enjoy [?]

Another week another (not so) cold front, but finally the water temperatures are staying around 80 degrees. Getting stable temps should make good fishing even better.

Last week we had very high afternoon tides which made the last stages of the incoming difficult to fish, but now we are in a period of more reasonable tides. The weather man even is projecting some gentle sea breezes for the next few days, so with warm water and reasonably calm water the catching should be good.

WIGGINS PASS/ESTERO: This past week in the Wiggins and Estero areas the bite was fairly good, with my half day trips landing 20 or better snook and quite a few jacks. We only landed a couple of redfish, but they were nice fish in the 23-, 24-inch range.

A lot of the snook were small with enough larger 4 to 6-pound fish to make it interesting. Some snook were found on the beaches, but the water was stirred up enough that it was basically blind casting for them. In the back, the water quality varied from fairly clear to nasty, depending on wind and tide activity.

MARCO ISLAND: Capt. Tim Daugherty fished the Marco area this week and reported decent fishing especially around oyster points with live bait. Some slot fish were caught, but most of the snook were small. Tarpon were hitting large threads on the outside islands. Capt. Tim also fly fished and reports good action on Black and Purple EP's and Gurggler's. The afternoon high tides were tough.

TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS/GOODLAND: Fishing out of Goodland, Capt. Rob Walczak reports fair activity on reds using Gulp baits on jig heads. Bait is still an offshore thing with no substantial siting of baits on the beaches or in the coves. Once you get the bait snook are available to eat them. Capt. Rob had best results around the islands just inside. Incoming tides were very dirty, cleaning up some on the outgoing. Late afternoon produced the best. Rob reports seeing some small tarpon in the back.

EVERGLADES CITY: Dirty water especially on the outside due to wind sent Capt. Joe McNichols to the backcountry where the water was cleaner. Tuesday, his clients landed 10 or so snook with the largest being 38 inches. Also they bagged two nice redfish all on Gulp jigs. Capt. McNichols reported very few tarpon sighted which is unusual for this time of year. Bait down south is very tough to find.

OFFSHORE: Capt. Buddy Tomei reports very good cobia action running south. While grouper fishing is slow Capt. Buddy says the permit are thick and willing to eat. Snapper fishing during the day has been average, but nighttime trips result in good numbers. Sharks are all around and in various sizes, which can be problem. Lots of cutoffs.