Ft. Myers Fishing Report

Fort Myers to Boca Grande spring fishing report for 2013

Ft Myers to Boca Grande fishing report for Spring 2013

Capt. Scott Hughes
April 23, 2013
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

This spring has been cooler and windier than I like but you have to do the best you can with what you get. I spent most of March targeting redfish and have been mostly targeting tarpon since Easter.

Tarpon started moving into the area in fishable numbers near the end of March but I wasn't able to hook any until April 2nd. The cold water temperatures and lots of wind have made the tarpon fishing difficult. I've already had some really good days but I've had my struggles, especially when the wind has been out of the south. South winds make Pine island Sound muddy and the beaches and Charlotte Harbor very choppy. On the other hand, those same winds make flats fishing for redfish and snook excellent so the guys targeting snook have had a lot of good fishing.

Snook fishing has been very good for the guys that have been targeting them with live bait. Both sides of Charlotte Harbor and Pine island Sound has produced good snook fishing. From what I'm seeing, there are a lot of upper to over slot snook on the flats. That will be good for the spawn later in the summer.

Redfish fishing has been good all winter and still is good now. all the usual flats are holding schools of slot sized redfish. Live bait, dead biat and lures will take them if your stealthy and don't many any noise. Please be courteous and move to another area if a boat is poling or staked out on a flat. There is a lot of water out there. It's always nice to find a new area and you cant do that fishing where there is already a boat or two.

Cobia have getting in on the mix. I've been doing quite a bit of sight fishing for cobia along the beaches and bars. Most this has been on the windy days when I haven't been able to get out to where I like to look for the tarpon.

Sharks are everywhere. Catching hasn't been a problem. Bulls, blacktips, spinner, hammerheads, you name it. Its all here if you like sharks.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

I don't see much changing with the fishing. When the weather improves we have some really good days. Windy will take its toll on the tarpon production but will help the snook and redfish guys. Cobia and sharks will be a staple though out the next few months.

Good Luck!

Capt. Scott Hughes

Blackwater Charters

941-628-4247

www.blackwatercharters.com

www.ftmyersfishingcharters.com

Target Species:

Tarpon, Snook, Redfish, Cobia, Sharks

Ft Myers to Boca Grande winter fishing report 2013

Capt. Scott Hughes
January 19, 2013
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

The past two months have been spent fishing redfish, speckled trout, and flounder. I've done quite a bit of duck hunting this season.

The fishing for redfish has been decent with good numbers of reds hitting soft plastics and shrimp on the flats of Pine Island and the east side of Charlotte Harbor. most of the redfish are in the 3-5 pound class which is normal for the middle of winter. Expect for the reds to increase in size and number as we get nearer to the month of March.

Speckled trout fishing has improved quite a bit over November and December. There have been lots of large trout over 20 inches in the same areas as the redfish. Slot sized trout have finally moved into the deeper glass flats on bith sides of the harbor.

Flounder have been spotty this winter but I've still been catching a few each day. Most have legal size but still on the smaller size.

Quite a few sharks have been moving on the flats. Blacktips and spinners in the 60-80 pound class.

Pompano made a good showing last week. Most were 3-4 pounds. That good size for pompano.

Its been a good duck hunting season for me. We have shot lots of ringnecks, blue wing teal and a few mottled ducks.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

I expect to get larger redfish as we get into the middle of Feburary. Trout fishing should continue to be good for the next few months.
Tarpon will run early again this year if it doesn't get any colder.

Target Species:

redfish, speckled trout, flounder, pompano, sharks

Fort Myers to Boca Grande fall fishing report

Fort Myers to Boca Grande fall fishing report 11-19-2012
Capt. Scott Hughes
November 20, 2012
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

My tarpon fishing ended on October 20th this season. That is a couple of weeks longer than most years. Over all, it was a good tarpon season. I stated catching tarpon on March 20th, which was a few weeks earlier than the previous year. With that said, I only caught 13 more tarpon than in 2011. The month of May was a dissapointment. There were plenty of tarpon but strong west winds coupled with an early migration into Boca Grande Pass made catching the tarpon difficult. The winds eliminated most of the beach fishing. High jig boat traffic made live bait fishing in Boca Grande Pass tough during the morning hours. The aggressive style of "jig" fishing all but eliminates all other types of fishing when there is high boat traffic. I don't jig fish for tarpon because its actually a method in which the tarpon run into the line and get foul hooked so i don't find it very sporting. July through October had good tarpon fishing. The months of September and October had above average tarpon fishing. In fact, my average hook-ups trip were some of the highest of the season.

For the past three weeks I have mostly been targeting redfish, speckled trout and flounder. The fishing has been pretty solid overall. I've had some excellent days on redfish and the trout are running big. I've not been catching the numbers of trout that I'm used to for November. I'm not sure if this is because of the redtide that we've had this fall or if its the new open recreational season and larger commecial bag limits that the FWC allowed this year. Redfish fishing has been the best thing going. Most of the reds are running 3-6 pounds. Flounder and snook have been mixed in. The flounder have been on the small side. The snook have been running 10-12 pounds. I don't usually target snook this time of year but from what I'm seeing they are making a good come back.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

I don't see much changing for the next few months. A little more cool weather hopefully will push in a few more speckled trout and flounder. I'll be targeting redfish, speckled trout and flounder until mid March, then I start looking for tarpon again. If it is a cold winter I won't start looking for tarpon until the beginging of April.

Target Species:

redfish, speckled trout, flounder, snook

Fort Myers to Boca Grande early spring fishing report 2012

Fort Myers to Boca Grande early spring fishing report 2012
Capt. Scott Hughes
February 26, 2012
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

Spring has come early this year. Even when we get a cold front its not very cold. The last front only dropped the water temps down a couple of degrees. Normally after a front this time of year the bite slows down and the fish seek water water. Well thats not the case this year. I fish during the passing of a front yesterday and the speckled trout and redfish fed just like they did the day before. Even with a stiff north wind the fish were biting on the artificial lures.

Redish: Fishing for redfish has been excellent all winter but now that the tides are getting higher is really been good and we are finally starting to see some real nice 7-10 pounders on the flats. All areas in Southwest Florida are producing good redfish. The east and west walls of Charlotte Harbor are hold slot size fish and i've even heard reports of good redishing in the river mouths. Naturally The flats near Gaspiralla Sound are hold good redfish and so is Pine Island Sound. Most of my fishing has been arfifical lures but alot of guys like to put live bait on a cork. Each to his own. Both methods are productive.

Speckled Trout: Trout fishing is good for most everyone because the fish are very scattered out on the flats due to the water water tempatures. I would rather have colder water because that pushes them to more isolated pockets and makes for some great action. No need for live bait for the trout. They bite lures better than the bait most of the time.

Snook: I have not been targeting snook because most of the best snook fishing is with live sardines and I have been able to keep people happy without the use of live bait. However, I know plenty of other guides who do target snook and they are haivng a great year on snook in Charlotte Harbor. Snook up to 30 inches have been common catches with the use of live sardines.

Sharks: Again I have not been targeting sharks but I have been seeing a lot of them lately and I know a few guys that target large sharks daily. They are hooking sharks up to 200 pounds almost every day. Bulls, spinner and blacktips are the most common catches right now.

Tarpon: I have not tried to target tarpon because March is usually to early for them in Southwest Florida but the conditions are getting closer to what tarpon like. If we get a good weather window i'd expect to see some tarpon reports. It might even be from me:)

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

Expect good fishing in March for most of the above species for the next couple of months.

Target Species:

redfish, specked trout

Fort Myers to Boca Grande fishing spring fishing report 2012

Fort Myers to Boca Grande early spring fishing report 2012
Capt. Scott Hughes
February 10, 2012
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

This year continues to be the warmest winter that I can remember. The water temps are in the 70's and the fish are acting like its already spring. Some sardines have already started moving in on the flats. I have also spotted tarpon in a number of areas but the weather has not been favorable for targeting tarpon.

Redfish fishing in Pine Island and Charlotte Harbor continues to be my main target species. The higher tides have been the best but on occasion I've caught good redfish on the lower tides. The warmer than normal water temps have really changed the paterns of the redfish for this time of year. A lot of the redfish are already in large schools. When you find the school you can catch a lot of fish but if you don't find the school then you probably won't catch any redfish.

Specked trout fishing is still good but not as good as past years. I am having a harder time location the larger 20-25 inch trout. Most of the speckled trout on the flats are lower slot or under sized fish.

Flounder fishing is almost dried up because the trout are so aggressive that a flounder doesn't have change to get the bait. I'm still catching a couple per trip but the quality is low.

Snook fishing is improving and the use of live sardines is helping anglers catch good number of snook for the fist time in a few years. Charlotte Harbor is the better area for the snook right now. All snook fishing is catch and release only on our coast.

Tarpon and sharks are starting to move into Southwest Florida. I saw a tarpon in 4 different areas on one scouting trip last week. We weather was not great for targeting tarpon and it didn't get any hook-ups but the fish were there and they were big. It won't be long if it staying this warm.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

We are supposed to have a cool down this weekend and i hope that its enough to slow down the spring migration. We don't want it to get to warm to fast. It will mess with the fishing patterns and make the fishing slower during the summer. Expect the fishing for redfish and snook to get much better as we get closer to March. Speckled trout fishing continue to be decent. they usually spawn in April but i expect it start in March this year. We should also start to see more cobia and mackerel in the comming weeks.

Target Species:

redfish, speckled trout, snook, tarpon

Fort Myers to Boca Grande fishing forecast for Feburary 2012

Fort Myers to Boca Grande fishing report for late January 2012
Capt. Scott Hughes
January 28, 2012
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

The spring like weather continues and the fish are starting to think its spring as well. I actually don't like warm weather in the winter. I have been patterning redfish and speckled trout during the winter months for a long time and I have figured out how to catch them under almost any weather condition. When it is unseasonably warm during the winter months the fish start to think its spring and the fish fall out of those patterns and we have to adjust to the warmer conditions.

The fishing for redfish is still the best thing going on the flats. I spent a few days on the north side of Charlotte Harbor and we caught lots of 3-4 pound redfish using live shrimp and weedless soft plastic lures. Pine Island also is still producing good redfish action with a few 10-12 pounders mixed in with the smaller redfish.

The warm winter has probably affected to speckled trout fishing the most. I have been able to catch limits of good sized trout any time that i want but I'm having to work a little harder than normal because the fish are on the move due to the 71 degree water temps. We don't usually see 70 degree water temps until mid to late March. On the bright side, keeper trout can be found almost anywhere there is grass and clean water.

Flounder fishing has also suffered from the warmer than normal water temps. When its warm the flounder push out into the deeper water of the harbor. After a strong cold front they will seek the warmth of the shallows. I'm still catching a few per day but they are much smaller than earlier in the season.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

I expect the good fishing to continue. Larger redfish will start to show up and the speckled trout fishing will be good for a few more months. If it stays warm expect a early spring with baitfish and snook showing up in mix. Also the tarpon will probably make an early showing. But, that is not always a good thing for the season as a whole.

Target Species:

redfish, speckled trout, flounder

Fort Myers to Boca Grande fishing report for January 2012

Fort Myers to Boca Grande fishing report for January 2012
Capt. Scott Hughes
January 13, 2012
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

We finally received some cold weather this winter. The mercury dipped into the high 20's for a couple of days in early January and the fish responded after a few days of hibernation. The fishing for redfish and flounder really improved with the cold snap. Redfish pushed up on the grass flats looking for food and the flounder moved into the deeper sloughs and potholes. Speckled trout fishing changed quite a bit but was still good when you could find fish. The sheephead bite has also turned on and I even went out and caught a few last week.

After the cold snap I ditched my artificial lures and fished with fresh shrimp. We caught limits of speckled trout and redfish. The flounder bite was really good also. The first warm day after the front pruduced 15 keeper sized flounder. That's a lot of flounder for our area since Southwest Florida is not known for its flounder fishing.

Last week's weather was quite a bit warmer and we had to adapt to the changing conditions. The redfish scattered out on the flats and sighting was the most productive method. The redfish were "tailing" as pushed up onto the higher flats and we cast live shrimp to them and caught a dozen with four or five of them going over 10 pounds. The speckled trout were still hiding in the rooler moss and they responded weel to a variety of soft plastic lures. A few flounder were also caught while targeting the speckled trout.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

Lookf for the same kind of fishing that we've had for the past month. Use live bait after the fronts and lures when its warmer. Redfish, speckled trout and flounder will be the main catches on the flats and sheephaed and grouper will be nearshore and in the passes.

Target Species:

redfish, speckled trout, flounder

Fort Myers to Boca Grande Christmas Fishing Report

Fort Myers to Boca Grande Christmas Fishing Report
Capt. Scott Hughes
December 26, 2011
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

Its been unseasonably warm for the past month. It hasn't really hurt the fishing except for the flounder have pushed off the flats and more toward the gulf. Redfish and speckled trout fishing is still very good with double digit catches of both species common on 4 or 6hr trips. I've had excellent fishing in all areas of Charlotte Harbor. The east wall, west wall and Pine Island Sound are all producing about the same results. Low to mid slot redfish, lots of good trout and a few keeper flounder are normal catches on almost every trip. I've only been using artificial lures. Shrimp will also work but since its been so warm, the pinfish and trash fishing will steal most of the shrimp so you catch more fish on the lures.

There are also a lot of smaller spanish mackerel and huge ladyfish running near the passes and in the middle of Charlotte Harbor. This is a good bet if you have a larger boat that doesn't fish the shallow flats well.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

I expect good redfish fishing to continue from now until the end of April. Trout fishing will get better as it get colder and starting on New Year Day they will be in season and you can keep 4 per person. If it remains a warm winter expect the tarpon to show up in april again in 2012.

Target Species:

redfish, speckled trout, flounder

Winter Fishing Report for fort Myers to Boca Grande Florida

Winter fishing report, Fort Myers to Boca Grande, Fl
Capt. Scott Hughes
November 30, 2011
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

We have had a mild fall and winter so far this year. I am mostly targeting redfish, speckled trout and flounder with artificial lure in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound because a batch of redtide put a damper on any offshoire fishing last month. The flats fishing has been good enough so I don't see any reason to to try anything different at this point. Usually as the water temperatures drop the flats fishing get better so I'm hopeing for an excellent fishing season during the holidays.

The redfish fishing has been better than last year and they are running a little bit larger than they have been the past few seasons. I've been targeting scattered fish in 1-2 feet of water with a veriety of soft plastic lures. Live shrimp has worked well also when the tide has been high.

Catch and release speckled trout fishing has been consistent with most of the fish running 14-20 inches. they have been taking soft and hard plastic lures and live shrimp. Speckled trout are catch and release only until the first of the year. When the season opens next year anglers will be allowed 4 per person.

Flounder fishing is still good. We are catching a half dozen per trip while targeting redfish and trout.

There are also a lot of spanish mackerel, sharks running near the beaches and passes. These fish are migrating down the coast and are feeding on minnows. If your going to target these fish you need to look for the flocks of birds. Follow the birds and you'll find the fish. For the mackerel use small spoons and jigs. for the shards use ladyfish, mullet, pinfish or spanish mackerel.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

I expect to have some excellent fishing during the holidays. Redfish and trout should been a staple and will keep rods bent. There should be enough flounder, pompano and mackerel around to make a fish dinner.

Target Species:

redfish, speckled trout, flounder, spanish mackerel, sharks

Fort Myers to Boca Grande fall fishing report

Fort Myers to Boca Grande fall fishing report
Capt. Scott Hughes
October 26, 2011
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

Redtide in the gulf from North Captiva to Engelwood during the second week of October squashed my offshore fishing this fall. I went out of Boca Grande Pass a few weeks ago found lots of dead gag and red grouper. I als found quite a few dead bull redfish. Neeless to to say the fishing wasn't very good. I didn't see any eveidence of fish kills inshore nor have I seen any since. In fact the inshore fishing has been very good the entire month of October. Redfish fishing has been lately. I'm finding them along the outside bars mostly. I haven't been trying to target schools because it takes up a lot of time. Snook and speckled trout are in the same areas. The snook are migrating up the bay and the trout are moving up on the flats. I'm also seeing more keeper flounder than usual. I'm catching at least two very nice keeper flounder per trip. Pompano are also starting to make a showing on the flats. I'm catching them while targeting the flounder and specled trout.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

Speckled trout season closes on November 1st so they will all be catch and release until the 1st of the year. The good news is that I'm catching enough flounder, pompano and redfish while i'm targeting the trout to have a nice fish dinner.

Target Species:

Redfish, Speckled Trout, Flounder, Snook

Fort Myers to Boca Grande fishing inshore and offshore fishing report

Fort Myers, Pine Island and Boca Grande fishing report
Capt. Scott Hughes
October 7, 2011
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

Its been two weeks now since I've been back to work. I tore the ACL in my left knee back in July and had surgury to repair it in August. I was off the water for a little over a month. The fist week back on the water was tough fishing. I found tarpon but didn't get any to bite and found a large school of redfish but spooked them and didn't catch any. After a handfull of charters this past week and a couple of practice days I'm getting more comfortable with what's going on out on the water even though I'm not physically at 100 percent.

I went back to the areas where I saw the tarpon last week and i did get them to bite this time. I hooked 7 tarpon of the the course of three trips but didn't get any of them to the boat. I lost three that were pushing 150lbs while drifing live ladyfish and lost another 4 more over the course of the next two trips while trolling large diving crank baits. Because tarpon fishing conditions were deteriating the 2nd and 3rd trip due to approaching cold front so I had to cover much more water to find the fish. To cover the most water I chose to abandon the drift fishing and tried trolling. If it weren't for some bad luck it would have worked great. We had three nice tarpon in the 80-100 pound range jump and spit the hook and one tarpon took the plug deep and chewed through the 80lb flourocarbon leader.

I also targeted redfish and specked trout on the flats last week and even though i didn't find large schools of bull redfish i did find lots of scattered slot redfish. It looks like we should another good winter with keeper redfish in the 3-6 pound class. I also had some excellent fishing for keeper sized speckled trout. I don't usually target speckled trout until later in the winter but the trout fishing was good and with more cold fronts on the way it should get better.

I also found quite a few snook in some areas. The snook fishing is far form recovered but it seems that are a targetable amount in some areas.

Spanish mackerel and bluefish are pushing nto the bay and are offshore. I did well thowing lures for spanish mackerel in the 18-20 inch range bluefish in the 4-6 lb class.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

The wind and cold fronts will probably put and end to any consistent tarpon fishing for the rest of this season but a good day can still be had for the rest of this month if you keep your eyes open. Migrating tarpon are always looking to get an easy meal and will be following baitfish schools. Redfish, snook and specked trout fishing should be good for the next couple of months and the trout fishing will get better for the rest of the winter. Offshore fishing should stay good for another month or two with grouper, king mackerel, spanish mackerel, little tunny and cobia being the main targets.

Target Species:

redfish, specked trout, tarpon, mackerel

Fort Myers to Boca Grande fall fishing report

Fort Myers to Boca Grande fishing report
Capt. Scott Hughes
September 27, 2011
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

I'm just now getting back to light duty fishing. Its only been 5 weeks since my ACL surgury so I'm only fishing a few days a week. The first few days was tough. It takes some time to get the feels of what's going on out on the water. The first day that I went out I found some tarpon but I couldn't get them to bite. The next day I found a large school of big redfish but I spooked them so I didn't catch any of them. All of the ingredients for good fishing is in place and when I figure it out I'll have a good report. There is a lot of baitfish around right now. There are speckled trout and redfish on the flats, mackerel, bluefish and little tunny offshore and tarpon near the passes. Hopefully next week I'll have a better catching report.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

I expect good fishing for the next few months both inshore and offshore. Look for grouper, spanish mackerel, king mackerel and little tunny offshore and redfish and speckled trout inshore.

Target Species:

tarpon and redfish

Fort Myers to Boca Grande August-September Fishing Report

Fort Myers to Boca Grande August-September fishing report
Capt. Scott Hughes
September 12, 2011
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

On July 12th I tore my ACL and the medial meniscus in my left knee. I was pulling in my cast net and when i twisted to dump it in the livewell it popped. I went to the deck and when i was able to get up, the knee was locked at a 30 degree angle. July is one of the prime tarpon fishing months and I had a full load of charters until the end of August. I struggled though the trips the best that i could and on August 25th I had total ACL reconstruction and had the torn part of my meniscus removed. The recovery time for this kind of surgury is around 10 months for full recovery but i expect to be fishing with a deck hand for help by the end of September.

The summer has been tough fishing for tarpon. I was able to hook at least one tarpon on each of my trips from the middle of July until the end of August but for the most part the fishing was slow. I did have a few days the first week of August where we hooked over 10 tarpon per trip while drifting in Boca Grande Pass but most of the tarpon fishing has been using cut mullet and catfish in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound. I was averaging around 2 tarpon per day while dead baiting.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

I should be back on the water with the help of a deck hand by the end of this month. I'm not sure that the fishing will be like since i have not been on the water for almost a month. One of the guys that will be helping me out has been out targeting tarpon several days this week and he averaging around 2 tarpon per morning. He is trolling deep diving plugs over known tarpon bottom. He is not seeing any rolling tarpon but there must be enough around because he's done this three days in a row.

Refish usually start sow up this time of year. I'll probably start targeting more redfish this fall since they are in very shallow water. It will be a lot easier on my body than running a gunning in open water.

Target Species:

Tarpon and Redfish

Ft Myers to Boca Grande Tarpon Fishing Report for Spring 2011

Ft Myers to Boca Grande Tarpon Fishing Report for April
Capt. Scott Hughes
April 21, 2011
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

I started consistently catching tarpon on April 7th and its been pretty good ever since. A hard cold front hampered the fishing for a day but that was about it.

The tarpon are holding in all of the usual places. The gulf south of Sanibel, all the rives and most of the passes are holding tarpon right now.

I even had a angler hook 2 and land 1 over 100 pounds on fly last week. Both tarpon hit a 6 inch streamer. We were in over 15ft of water which made for a heck of a fight on the 12wt tackle.

When bait fishing, threadfin herring have been the best baits but pinfish and cut bunker and ladyfish chunks have been hooking fish on the flats. That's about all the info that I'm sharing at this point. Its tarpon hunting season.

Good Luck,

Capt. Scott Hughes
Blackwater Charters
941-628-4247
www.blackwatercharters.com

Fort Myers saltwater and Lake Okeechobee bass fishing report

Fort Myers inshore saltwater and freshwater bass fishing report
Capt. Scott Hughes
February 9, 2011
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

I make most of my living fishing for saltwater gamefish. During the winter months most of my fishing is on the flats and creeks of Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound. This kind of fishing is a lot like bass fishing but in saltwater. I grew up less than a mile from Lake Okeechobee. The first 20 years of my life were fishing for bass on the lake. Bass fishing on Lake Okeechobee has a lot in common with the flats fishing in Pine Island Sound. Most of the productive water on the lake is less than 4 feet deep and it is once again crystal clear. Most of my bass fishing is with soft plastic baits. I throw a lot of flukes, sinko's, crawfish and plastic worms. Sometimes I'll throw a topwater or a spinner bait. For saltwater flats fishing, most of the time i use a shaky head jig with a sinko or fluke. I'll also throw a lot of unweighted flukes and creature baits when sight fishing for redfish, snook and speckled trout.

The water has wormed up quite a bit in Charlotte Harbor and fishing is excellent. It wasn't bad when the water was cold but its even better now. The larger redfish are startin to show up better and they are biting well. Smaller redfish are still everywhere and they are providing some good fun while targeting spckled trout. The trout bite is off the charts. It been one of the best winter trout seasons that I can remember. You can catch all the keeper sized fish that you want with a few trophys and bunch a under sized fish mixed in. Small flounder and all over the shallow potholes. Most of them are very big but they are keeper size if you want to mess with that small of a flounder.

I've also been doing some bass fishing over on Lake okeechobee and the fishing is as good as i've seen it in 30 years. The water quality is excellent and it was 1980 the last time that i have seen the grass beds as good as they are right now. I was 10 years old in 1980.

Lure fishing for bass is pretty easy right now. I've been doing well with a variety of solf plastics. Flukes have been the best but craws and worms are working well later in the morning. There a lot of good sized bass this year. Honest 4-5 pounder are not uncommon.

For the past several years i've been running dwon into the Everglades to do my bass fishing due to the poor water quality in Lake Okeechobee but not this year. The fishing is still very good down in the Everglades but the fishing is better on the lake. My buddy Capt. Shane Miller who runs guided bass fishing charters in the Everglades tells me that he's catching 100 bass a day. That a common number down there but the bass are usually 1-2 pounds. Okeechobee is almost putting up those kind of numbers but the grade of fish is much better.

Fort Myers Fishing Forecast:

My main focus is going to be on the flats fishing for remainder of the winter and spring but I'll do enough bass fishing to stay on top of whats going on in case someone wants to change it up and go to Okeechobee for some bass fishing.

Target Species:

redfish, speckled trout and large mouth bass