Now is the Best Time of Year for Big Snook

Since my last report it has been all about the snook on recent trips.  My anglers have been enjoying what is the peak time of year for catching snook as they stacked up during last weeks full moon phase.
Several outings produced as many as 50 fish ranging to 23 lbs. on a half day.  It seems that nearly all of the snook in the area have moved into or near the passes and along area beaches as they carry out full on spawning activity.  Sight fishing has been very good with several of the largest fish being caught by spotting them in shallow channel edges and casting live baits to them.  This is exciting fishing!  I even couldn’t resist heading back to a spot after one trip to catch a 42″ 23 lb. fish myself!

Dave Sharrock with another big snook released on a morning trip last week with Capt. Todd Geroy.

Barritt sight cast to this nice snook in less than 2 feet of water.

Capt. Todd with a 23 lb. snook released last week while sight fishing.

Red fish are scattered about along the mangroves at high tide.  While not being caught in big numbers, with a little effort some very nice fish can be caught

Dr. David Crane always seems to come out and land quality fish.

A 35 inch redfish made his morning last week!

For those looking for monster fish, tarpon are still showing in decent numbers just off he beaches and big sharks are abundant both in the nearshore gulf as well as the shallow inshore bays.
Water temperatures inshore are very warm right now topping near 90 degrees in some of the back bays and averaging 85 on the beaches.  That being said, the action has been best in the mornings and afternoons are best spent in the pool or air conditioning this time of year.

-Capt. Todd Geroy

Continuous Action in June

The fishing has rebounded  after a bit of a set back last week as we dealt with rough, rainy conditions with the passing of a tropical storm across the state of Florida.  Now the waters are clear and calm again and we are back on our game putting anglers on some great fishing!

I am still finding some big sea trout in deeper water inside the passes.  Fishing live baits near bottom, we have caught some very nice fish up to 23 inches.  The same spots are producing action with gag grouper as well as some keeper mangrove snapper.

Snook fishing has continued to be red hot!  Snook are stacked up in area passes and all along the beaches.  With the water clearing up since last weeks blow, we have enjoyed some great site fishing.  On yesterday mornings trip 6/15,  I fished with Ted Noethling and 7-year-old son, Andrew.  While moving to a spot,  I spotted a huge school of snook hugging the bottom in about 8 feet of clear water.  The school was huge, with probably 1000 fish.  More than I have observed in my career.  Of course we stopped and presented our offerings.  Ted and Andrew continuously hooked up and boated a large number of fish for about an hour until a pesky dolphin moved in and decided to target any fish we hooked and released instead of picking on any of the congregation of snook in the area.  Andrew was the star of the morning catching some beautiful snook to nearly 14 lbs.  A rewarding trip for this guide who has seen it all.

There are still some big tarpon in the area, although I have not had anglers wanting to target them.  It is not too late in the season to catch a bucket list fish.  Early morning and late evening tend to be the best time to fish for the silver kings.  I have run across fish both along the beaches, around passes as well as in some of the inland channels.

Sharks continue to be abundant as usual this time of year.  I have several shark trips on my schedule during the next couple of months.  Contact me regarding my popular discounted shark fishing trips offered from July though August.

-Capt. Todd Geroy

June Fishing in Naples Brings Quality Catches!

Fishing action has really heated up during the last couple of weeks.  I have shifted to only fishing mornings as it has just been uncomfortably warm in the afternoon and the action seems to slow down mid-day.

My anglers have been enjoying some great action with plenty of large sea trout ranging to 25 inches.  I have been targeting them in deep channels close to the gulf using live baits fished near the bottom as well as jigs.

Snook fishing has been as good as it gets!  This is catch and release fishing as the season is closed for the summer, but the abundance of fish are providing my anglers with fantastic action using live sardines and soft plastic swim baits.  Many half day trips have been releasing over 50 snook ranging from 22-33 inches.  We have had some hookups with giant fish over 40 inches as well, only to get beat in the cover while using light tackle.

Anglers have been encountering some nice redfish often showing up in the same areas where the snook are congregating. While not schooled up, the reds we have been catching have all been nice fish ranging from 25 to over 30 inches.

Now is the time to catch big sharks in the back bays.  Large bull, lemon and blacktip sharks are easy targets right now for anglers wanting a battle with a powerful fish.  Sharks we encounter run from 5 to 8 feet in length.

– Capt. Todd Geroy

December Arrives With a Variety of Fish

A new month upon us and while winter is creeping in throughout much of the country, SW Florida has been enjoying some marvelous fall weather.  With a slight cool down last week, our anglers have enjoyed comfortable conditions and are catching a variety of different fish on many trips.

We are welcoming the arrival of decent numbers of sea trout.  They are nice fish averaging 15 to 20 inches. I am finding most of them in fairly shallow water, 2-4 feet with sparse grassy bottom.  Live sardines as well as jigs are both taking fish.
Pompano have been running outside the passes on both tides as long as the water is moving.  The most popular and effective way to catch them is with a jig bumped along the bottom.  The pompano are running from 12 to 18 inches.

Small snook continue to chew on live sardines along the mangrove edges. They are scattered everywhere in the back bays.  As well as near the area passes.  There are also snook being caught on soft plastic swim baits and jigs.  Most of the fish are on the small side 18 to 24 inches.  December 1 begins the closure of snook season which reopens in March.  Snook can still be targeted, but must be released.

Redfish are scattered around.  While not schooled up, anglers willing to “hunt and peck”  along the shorelines, points and oyster bars are coming up with some very nice slot and a few over slot redfish.  Live sardines, shrimp and jigs are all productive baits. 
I’m looking forward to a busy December and hoping for the nice weather to continue as winter approaches.

-Capt. Todd  Geroy

Last week was a busy one as the “season” appears to be in full swing keeping me on the water with double half day trips.  My anglers kept busy with some good fishing while targeting a wide variety of species successfully.

Trout fishing is turning on with a couple trips catching limits of fish running in the 15 to 18 inch range.  I am finding the trout active along the channel edges adjacent to shallow flats on moving water.  We caught nice trout on jigs as well as live sardines.  There are some hard pulling bluefish mixed in with the trout also.

Pompano are active in the outside channels near the passes.  Jigs bumped along the bottom are taking quite a few of these scrappy fish.  They are a favorite table fish for many.  I have had success on both tides as long as the water is moving.

Snook continue to be just about everywhere we stop along the mangrove points and pockets.  Live baits have been producing plenty of smallish snook running 18 to 23 inches providing fun action on light tackle.  Unseasonably warm weather has continued to keep fish scattered from the beaches to the bays far inland.  Upcoming cool weather should help to bunch the snook up in the bays.  Some hefty jack crevalle have been caught along with the snook in many spots.

Redfish are scattered all over the inland bays.  High tide stages have been most productive along the mangroves, while deeper troughs have held good fish at low water.  Most reds caught have been mid slot “keepers” while my anglers have also released some over slot fish ranging to 31 inches on several outings.

I am looking forward to a busy holiday week coming up.  A welcome cool down in the weather pattern should trigger some good action for inshore anglers.

-Capt. Todd Geroy

We are merging into my absolute favorite time of year to fish the back waters of SW Florida.  The days are getting shorter and soon, the waters will begin to cool off slightly.  These factors will contribute to more of an all day bite as opposed to the early day action of the summer months.

Recent outings have been very productive.  Tarpon, redfish, snook, mangrove snapper and pompano have all been active.  This is a great time of year for anglers to catch the coveted “Grand Slam”, catching a tarpon, snook and redfish in one day.  We have been able to complete this challenge on several recent trips!

Redfish have become particularly active the last two weeks.  I have been finding slot size (18″ – 27″)  reds feeding along flooded mangrove edges and along shallow bars and flats at low tide.  My anglers have encountered schools of fish where they have pulled as many as a dozen fish out of one small mangrove pocket.
Snook have been everywhere, with most being small fish in the 18 – 22 inch range.  They are staged heavily in the passes now as well as scattered all over the back bays just inside of the gulf.  We have encountered a couple of monster snook as well, ranging up to 40 inches!

 One morning on my way to the dock to pick up my anglers,  I stopped to make a cast or two and check out a spot.  I was rewarded with a somewhat rare catch in our waters.  I identified it as the unusual “tarpon snook”.  After a bit of research, I discovered that it might well have been a species named “fat snook”.   It is very difficult to tell at a glance the difference between the two.  Without counting and comparing the number of rays on the fins and a few other differences, I will never know.  A very unique fish however!

My rare tarpon/fat snook

We are continuing to enjoy action with the juvenile tarpon.  Ranging up to 40 inches, these beautiful minutures of the fabled silver kings give anglers great thrills.  Amazing jumps, strong runs and stubborn standoffs on light tackle make for a challenging quarry.  We have been catching some of them in very tight spaces in remote backcountry creeks, adding to the excitement as these wild fish often jump right into the bushes!

My son Matt with a nice baby tarpon released on 9/3/15.

Last Saturday, I enjoyed a morning with Rob Harrelton of Naples and his friend Dave Crane, visiting from St. Louis.  We enjoyed some great action throughout the morning.  Dave was treated to some memorable catches.  Dave had a strong strike from a giant snook that proceeded to run 75 yards of line through the mangroves and down the shoreline.  The 15 lb. test line held up as Dave gingerly finessed the fish all the way back through the cover until the big fish finally got entangled around a large cluster of oyster ladenprop roots that extended all the way to the bottom.  Not to be shown up by this fish after such a battle, I went overboard, wading into the mangroves and got hold of the beast.  Dave, Rob and I celebrated this amazing catch of a snook measuring out at just about 40 inches!

Dave Crane released this giant snook along with redfish and tarpon to complete his “Grand Slam” last week! 9/4/15

I decided that we has stirred that shallow stretch of bank up, probably spooking anything else in the area.  I moved into a narrow creek mouth just 50 yards down the shoreline where I though we might find a tarpon to cooperate.  In a narrow space just wide enough to get the boat in, we set up and on the very first cast, Dave came tight again.  This time, a very spunky 40 inch tarpon came airborne.  After multiple jumps against the bushes and running under the boat several times.  Dave managed to subdue this amazing fish and complete step two of a potential “Grand Slam”.

Dave Crane was ecstatic after boating this wild juvenile tarpon in close quarters!

Now it was a quest to complete the slam!  We idled across the bay to fish a pocket along the mangroves where I often find redfish on that tide.  It took a few casts to get the bait far enough under the cover as the full moon flood tide closed up the pocket, but Dave was rewarded with his redfish.  We managed several more redfish from that spot.  While it wasn’t the largest of the morning, Dave was again thrilled to have completed his “Grand Slam” catch.

Fish # 3 of the grand slam

I have a busy schedule next week and am looking forward to some more great fishing!
-Capt. Todd Geroy

Mid-Summer Backwater Action

July is flying by and while I have still been laid up for the most part recovering from foot surgery, Capt. Ben has been busy most days and finding a good variety of fish for our clients.  The water is hot now running about 89 degrees on the beaches and into the mid 90’s in the back bays. Anglers are finding the mornings to be the time to be on the water before retiring to the air conditioning mid-day.

There are still some tarpon in the area to be caught.  Ben has had success getting hookups in some of the inshore bays near the gulf entrances.  Both live and cut baits are getting bites as well as some action using artifical baits such as traditional hard plugs such as Bagleys finger mullet and Heddon Lucky 13’s as well as soft plastic swim baits.  The tarpon are ranging in size from 30 to 100 lbs.  Action should continue through the next several months for those that want to commit the time for a hookup.

There are plenty of lemon and bull sharks patroling the same bays along with the tarpon.  The sharks are running from 4 footers to 7 foot bruisers.  It is not hard right now to get tight with one of these great fighters.  We are offering discounts though the month of August on our popular 1/2 day shark outings.  All sharks are released.

Snook fishing is still decent with the best action first thing in the morning before the sun gets too high. Live sardines (pilchards) are always effective as well as a variety of plugs, soft plastics and flies.  Most of the snook are running on the small side 18 to 23 inches, but there are good numbers of them around to offer fast action.

For those anglers looking for good table fare, mangrove snapper are everywhere right now with many of them running easily into the keeper size.  These tasty fish are easily caught on live pilchards or shrimp.  Docks, rip rap shorelines and blown down trees along mangrove shorelines are holding good numbers of snapper now.

This is a great time of year to be on the water and enjoy minimal boat traffic, beautiful scenery and some decent summer fishing.