November Fishing Delivers Some of the Best Action of the Fall

November 21, 2013

The month of November has continued to deliver fantastic weather and along with it some great days of fishing on the inshore waters of SW Florida!

There have been plenty of snook around from numerous fish in the 20 to 24 inch range to some impressive snook catches with fish ranging to 38 inches.  Live baits have provided the best action, and several trips have released as many as 30 snook on half day trips.

Dave Thoresh boated and released this large snook with Capt. Ben on 11/19/2013

Redfish also continue to please anglers with plenty of nice fish caught in the last week or two.  The reds are running from 23 to 28 inches.  They can be caught sight fishing in the shallows at low tide or in pockets along mangrove edges on the flood tide.  We have been catching reds on live baits as well as jigs and flies.  The redfish action should continue for the next several weeks.

Brothers Bill and Jack Forte’ doubled up on 30 inch snook and 30 inch redfish in one backcountry hole! Released 11/14/13

I have found an increasing number of sea trout showing up on trips.  I expect the trout fishing to really take off once cooler weather finally settles into our area.  Along with trout, pompano and bluefish are due to make a strong appearance as well.

I am looking forward to some fine fishing for the remainder of the month and into December.

- Capt. Todd Geroy

Fall Fishing Snook, Redfish and Tarpon in Naples, Florida

September is winding down and while we have had a great month of fishing in the Naples area, I expect October to only get better. October and November are in my opinion, the two very best months to fish the backwaters of Southwest Florida. The slight cool down of water temperatures provide action all day long and push more fish into the back bays from the outside beaches and passes.

The last week had a few challenges with weather in our region as periods of heavy rain showers forced us off the water on a couple of occasions. I did manage to fish a few half days and those anglers were rewarded with some nice catches of redfish and snook as well as baby tarpon action on each trip. The "baby tarpon" are juveniles ranging in size from 12 to 30 lbs. We have been finding them with great success in the last month for the first time since the fish kill caused by freezing temperatures during the winter of 2010.

One notable trip was Friday morning. I fished with long time client John Shroyer of Naples and friend Dr. Paul Richards. The duo enjoyed the best weather of the whole week and boated numerous snook and redfish. The reds ranged from 23 to 25 inches while the snook ranged from 22 to 32 inches. John managed a "Grand Slam" with a tarpon release along with his snook and redfish.
Dr. Richards with a nice 32 inch snook...


I am looking forward to some better weather conditions during the upcoming week. Tides are going to be especially favorable as we approach the new moon phase.
Get out and enjoy some great fall fishing in SW Florida!

- Capt. Todd Geroy

Fishing Naples Backwaters in September Is As Good As It Gets!

September 20, 2013

As mentioned and expected in my previous report, the fishing has really broken loose the last week or so in our area.  Scores of bait fish have moved in and the fish have really been feeding up.
Redfish have been on the top of the list with schools reds showing up both along the outside along beaches and passes as well as all over the back waters.  We have had several trips where the redfish have been hitting every cast when a school is found.  A majority of the fish have been in the 24 to 27 inch range with some running to 30 inches. I can say that so far, the redfish action has been as good as I’ve seen it in several years.  It should continue for through October into November.

Capt. Ben Geroy with a hefty September redfish

Snook action has also been hot and heavy.  We are still hooking up with some large fish ranging to the 16 pound range.  Several half day trips have boated as many as 25 snook while using live bait.  There a loads of juvenile snook in the area now, a good sign that the future population is growing.  We urge catch and release as these great fish recover from the massive fish kill that resulted from the cold winter of 2010.

Capt. Ben Geroy with a beautiful snook released Sept. 16, 2013

Naplesfishing.com had the honor of participating with two boats in the 4th annual Naples Take a Soldier Fishing Tournament last Saturday.  Over 60 boats donated their time to take over a hundred active duty soldiers  as well as a few veterans out for a day of fun on the water.  Other community businesses and and individuals donated their time and services to provide lodging, food, drink and prizes for these American heros.  It was a huge, successful event with a weigh in at the docks at Bayfront in Naples where hundreds of residents came out to welcome the boats and show support!  Proceeds generated are donated to the Wounded Warriors Project.  Fantastic!!!

Fishing was nothing short of fantastic for the tournament.  Both Ben and I were able to catch a load of nice redfish along with snook and seatrout to provide plenty of action and get into the competition.
I fished with Navy PO Eric Miller who had done very little fishing before. A very high tide in the morning proved to be challenging for casting under the mangrove cover, but it is also my favorite time to catch redfish.  Persistence paid off and after a few stops, we found a school of hungry redfish mixed in with snook providing action on every cast that hit the pocket.  Eric put redfish into the well for the weigh in later as well as releasing a bunch more redfish and snook.  We headed on to try for a couple of trout to go towards our combined weigh in of reds and trout.  We found trout working on the edge of a shallow flat as the tide dumped out and managed to put an 18 incher in the boat quickly. After that, Murphy’s Law caught up and every trout that bit and got hooked up managed to come off. All in all it was a great day of fishing with a fine young man.

Navy PO Eric Miller with one of many reds caught during the Naples Take a Soldier Fishing Tournament

Heading to weigh in at the Take a Soldier Fishing tournament

Capt. Todd Geroy and Navy soldier Eric Miller at the Naples Take a Soldier Fishing weigh in.

Capt. Ben shared his boat in the tournament with Vietnam veterans Dave Revard and John Webb .  The anglers boated numerous nice redfish as well as a number of snook.  A great day on the water!

Dave Webb shows off a nice  redfish at the Naples Take a Soldier Fishing Tournament with Capt. Ben Geroy

Another notable trip was yesterday morning, Sept. 19.  I once again had Thursday regulars Bill and Jack Forte’ aboard.  We had a super morning with plenty of action including loads of snook and redfish along with Bill catching a “Grand Slam” with snook, redfish and tarpon all boated in a half day trip!  Congratulations Bill!

- Capt. Todd Geroy

Mid August Fish Sampler in Back Waters of Naples

The mid summer doldrums are upon us with temperatures in the low to mid 90's daily along with less rain than in recent weeks to cool things off.  This is typically my slowest month for business and I take advantage of the slow down to get the boats and gear in shape for the upcoming busy season.

I have been running a few trips and enjoying some decent action with snook, redfish and baby tarpon. There have also been quite a few goliath grouper, snapper and small barracuda in the mix to add to the variety.

Snook fishing has slowed a little in recent weeks with the fish more scattered having finished their spawning activities. Warm water has also contributed to making them a bit sluggish.  The best activity is early in the day before the sun heats up.

Baby tarpon are all over the back country both along mangrove shorelines and around deeper creek mouths.
The average size we have been catching has been between 12 and 25 lbs. The small tarpon will take a variety of baits both live and artifical.

   Redfish are still biting on the higher tide stages.  Live sardines as well as cut bait such as lady fish chunks are taking most of the fish now.  1/4 ounce jigs rigged with Gulp shrimp in natural colors are also a local favorite and take plenty of redfish.

There is still time to take advantage of my summer shark fishing special through September.  I am offering a significant discount on 4 hour specialty trips.  We catch plenty of large bull, lemon and blacktip sharks in the shallow backwaters.  Please contact me to schedule one of these popular trips.

- Capt. Todd Geroy

Mid-Summer Acton with Snook, Redfish, Tarpon and Sharks in Naples Back Waters

We had  better weather last week than the previous with things drying up a little and managing to get out fishing daily as well as a couple evening trips.  Fishing action held up with redfish and snook still strong as well as juvenile tarpon and plenty of sharks bringing smiles to my anglers.

Capt. Ben Geroy and Nick Hamilton with a double on some nice July redfish released last week!

Last weekend, I fished a local charity tournament benefiting the University of Florida Construction School.  This was my third time fishing the TR Rushing Construction Co. team out of four years that the tournament has existed.  We have come in the top three every year and added another second place finish this year.  We released redfish to 26 inches along with snook to 27 inches to come in just four inches from first place.  It was a great, fun event with strong competition followed by a wonderful party hosted by Hamilton Harbor Yacht club.  We are looking forward to next year already!

The rest of the week brought great catches of redfish, snook, sharks and tarpon ranging in from 15 to 30 lb. class.  Great fun on light tackle.  I have seen an increase in the juvenile tarpon during the last week with the influence of fresh water run off flushing through the back country.  These events usually push plenty of fish out of the inland creeks and concentrate them along the shorelines in the back bays.  The small tarpon take artificial lures and flies very well as well as live baits.


- Capt. Todd Geroy

Redfishing Heating Up in Naples Backwaters

July 17, 2013
Fishing remains strong despite some very heavy periods of rain throughout South Florida.  With the rains, the waters have cooled a bit making the fish especially feisty and feeding more through the day than previous weeks.

Redfish have made a sudden appearance showing up in good numbers through out the back bays.  Live baits such as shiners and shrimp are taking plenty as well as soft plastic jigs and Gulp shrimp.  Natural colors such as “root beer”, “new penny” and “molting” do well in the stained water.


 John Schnurbush with a nice multi-spotted redfish before release with Capt. Todd Geroy

Taylor Schnurbush caught a surprise last week with a nice back country permit

Snook are still very reliable with plenty of fish schooled up in the passes, but also scattered through the backwaters.  This time of year, we usually start to find some very large post-spawn fish in the deeper runs and channels of the back country.

Sharks are ever present and are making easy targets for those who want to pick a fight with a big fish.  Lemons and bulls are running from 5 to 8 feet long.  All are being caught in the shallow, calm bays.

- Capt. Todd Geroy

Summer Big Snook Action in Naples Backwaters

Summer is in full swing now as water temperatures have really heated up and the afternoon rains have begun to be a daily event.  The trick to summer fishing in SW Florida is to plan your fishing in the morning and evening hours avoiding the mid-day heat.

I have seen afternoon water temperatures reaching 93 degrees in the bay recently.  That makes the fish a bit sluggish until the later evening hours.  Some anglers have been taking advantage of the sunset trips with good results.  However, it has been a bit of a gamble with the lightening producing afternoon thunderstorms getting in the way.

Ben and I have had some great catches in the last week or so with many large snook still making happy memories for our anglers.  Shark fishing has been as easy as it gets with mainly bull and lemons sharks ranging from 5 foot scrappers to 8 1/2 foot bruisers.  They are providing great action for those who want to catch a big fish and get a work out at the same time!

Redfish have also been showing up in many of the spot we are concentrating on snook.  Although they are not schooled up, they are very nice fish running in the 24 to 30 inch range when we find them.

The following are photos of some of the snook released in the last week with Capt. Ben and I. …

Ron Petuch with a 16 lb. snook caught with Capt. Todd Geroy on a recent evening trip

Ron Petnuch with another large snook caught and released last week with Capt. Todd Geroy

Pete Seitz with a nice snook released with Capt. Ben Geroy

Audra McDermott with a big snook released on June 27 with Capt. Ben Geroy

 Matt Geroy with a bruiser snook caught and released with his brother Capt. Ben Geroy

July promises to be a great month to get on the water and catch some trophy sized fish in the backwaters!

- Capt. Todd Geroy

Best Snook Bite of the Year is Right Now!

June 17, 2013


Wow!  Fishing really turned on last week as the waters cleared from the stormy conditions we experienced the previous week.

The snook fishing has been especially strong with some of the largest fish of the year being caught and released.  We also found some large redfish in the mix running up to 30 inches or more.
Although I did not fish for them,  I did see plenty of tarpon in the area.  They were throughout the inshore bays and appeared to be ranging from 20 lb. juveniles to large fish over 100 lbs.  It is not too late to get out and take a shot at these great fish.

Last Wednesday, Capt. Ben and I took a morning off and headed out together for a rare day of fishing together.  We easily loaded the boat with live sardines and headed inland to search for the big snook that we knew were lurking in some of our favorite spots.  The fish did not disappoint us!  In four hours of fishing, we released over 35 snook with four of the fish measuring out at the mid 30 inch mark and one caught by Ben measuring 42 inches and weighing in at 25 lbs!

Most all of the snook including the largest ones were caught while sight fishing in less than two feet of water.  We also released seatrout, goliath grouper and redfish to 30 inches.  Here are some photos from our morning…

Capt. Ben Geroy with a nice June snook

Ben Geroy with a hefty 30 inch redfish before release

Another big snook for Ben

Capt. Todd Geroy enjoyed a hard battle with this bruiser snook

Capt. Ben Geroy with a 25 lb. snook released 6/12/2013

Another trip out last week was with Ryan and Kevin Petnuch.  These youngsters now in their teens have been fishing with me for many years as they started coming on the boat with their dad when they were as young as four.

At their request, we started the day with some action fishing. The boys released quite a few nice snook along with a big redfish and numerous fighting jack crevalle.  Late in the morning we moved on to do battle with a couple of large sharks and then ended the trip at another snook spot where they hooked into a couple of large fish which managed to throw the hooks.

All in all  it was a great morning with all kinds of great action and some real nice fish released.

Ryan Petnuch with a bruiser 31 inch redfish

- Capt. Todd Geroy

Summer Action is Great in Naples Backwaters

Summer is officially here and we have enjoyed some fine fishing so far.  Snook are staging near the passes for the spawning season, tarpon are providing some big action along wtih an abundance of sharks and redfish continue to please anglers.

Tarpon are being found both in the back bays as well as off the beaches. We are fishing them with a variety of live and cut bait.  The fish are running anywhere from 75 lbs. and up.  A recent trip with Matthew McCall and father Tony produced a 90 lber caught in only 3 ft. of water.  The fish was caught using a mullet for bait.  The duo also did battle with some hefty blacktip, bull and lemon sharks to 175 lbs.  A highlight was a large blacktip shark that put up a long battle before measuring out at over 6 ft. boat side.  It was one of the larger blacktips that I have seen.

Snook fishing this time of year is about as good as it gets.  Big numbers of fish are schooling in the area passes and go on a feeding frenzy particularly on the outgoing tide.  We are also hitting plenty of snook along the outside beaches.  Sight fishing when the water is calm and clear in open space is always a fun alternative to fishing the cover of mangroves where we spend much of our time.
I fished several trips last week with Bryant and Sandi Garner whom I have fished for many years as they make an annual treck for some May fishing in Naples.  Through the week, they boated numerous snook, redfish and some giant jack crevalle.  Friday mornings trip produced a beautiful 35 inch, 14 lber for Bryant.

Sandi Garner with one of her many snook released last week.

Bryant Garner with a nice 35 inch snook released with Capt. Todd Geroy on 5/24/2013

Capt. Ben has has the same results on recent trips.  Saturday, Ben guided the Milos party to some great action with the snook, redfish and big sharks.

Frank Milos with a nice snook released with Capt. Ben Geroy on 5/25/2013

A hefty bull shark comes along side for release with Capt. Ben on 5/25/2013

Let’s get out there for some big action right now!
- Capt. Todd Geroy

Some Good Fishing Despite Rough Weather

The saying is that “March roars in like a lion” has held true this year!  The last two weeks have brought some relentless weather systems to Southwest Florida.  With one cold front after another bringing cool temperatures and many days of strong northerly winds, water temperatures dropped into the 60 degree range making fish a bit lethargic.  It has been rare to have a day where we have taken the jackets off.  Despite that, Capt. Ben and I have had a full schedule and have been working hard to keep clients on the fish.  Some days have been just plain tough to get the bites with less than favorable conditions, some days have turned out some fine catches.

Sea trout have been cooperating in some of the deep channels way inside.  I fishes last Friday afternoon with Dave Dougherty and Jim Chisholm.  The guys caught at least 30 trout in one spot using Gulp shrimp on jig heads.  The fish all ranged from 16 to 19 inches.  all but a couple for dinner were released.

Redfishing has remained a bit spotty, but we managed fish in the 23 to 25 inch range on several trips.  Live shrimp presented along flooded mangroves at high tide produced a few fish.  I expect redfishing to improve as soon as warmer, more consistent weather patterns settle in.  Here are some pictures of a few anglers and their redfish from the last week…

Joe McGurrin released this nice red on one of the coldest mornings of the year!

Barrett Gilbert and daughter Mary Harbin with another red on a cool afternoon last week

Tim Gill wih a nice back country redfish 3/14/13

Sheepshead are schooled up heavily in the passes right now and feeding well on pieces of shrimp fished near the bottom. Many of the fish are running in the 3 to 4 pound range.  They provide plenty of action on some of the cooler days and are great table fish.  Along with them are some nice black drum and a few redfish.

On Friday 3/15, Capt. Ben had a busy morning catching a variety of species including this large black drum released by George Bariso...

Geroge Bariso with a large drum released with Capt. Ben Geroy. 3/15/13

We are expecting a warmer week ahead.  If this forecast holds true, we should see the return of snook action and maybe some tarpon starting to move into the area.  We are ready for spring to settle in and the fishing action to really explode.


- Capt. Todd Geroy

March Fishing Starts Strong!

March 2, 2013
 
We have now rolled into March and are off to a good start with last weeks fishing showing a strong rebound from previous weeks.  Red tide no longer seems be an issue on the inland waters at least for now.  Warming waters and the return of bait fish have contributed to some great action with snook, redfish and a variety of other fish.

Snook fishing really turned on last week as water temperatures reached the upper 70′s for the first time since early December.  It was as if somebody opened the gates and the snook magically appeared on the scene.  We caught as many as 30 or more on a couple of trips, releasing many small fish and several ranging to 28 inches. Live sardines were the bait of choice.

10 year old Gavin Woolman is proud of his first snook catch last week!

Redfish were also cooperating on several trips for Capt. Ben and myself.  We sight fished to cruising reds on shallow edges at low tide as well as producing fish along flooded oyster laden shore lines at high tide.  Sardines, shrimp and jigs all took fish this week.

Gavin Woolman with a healthy red fishing with Capt. Todd Geroy last week.

On Friday, Ben fished with Kevin Vance, Scott Steinberger and young sons Jason and Wyatt Steinberger.  The group caught a variety of fish including redfish, some hefty black drum, snook, mangrove snapper, gag grouper and big jack crevalle.  Here is Scott with a nice redfish…

A nice redfish comes aboard while fishing with Capt. Ben Geroy on 1/1/2013

I spent a full day out on Friday with Bill Palmer, son David and their buddy Gary.  A goomy chilly day with temperatures only reaching 63 degrees, we found some great action.  Using live sardines all day  they released over 30 snook, countless jack crevalle and nice redfish.  Here is Gary with a nice redfish released late in the day…
During the week we also found some nice sea trout running to 18 inches along with pompano and bluefish.  I have been spotting some big tarpon in the back bays along with sharks, but we have not made any attempts for hookups yet.  It is looking like March fishing is going to shape up nicely!


- Capt. Todd Geroy

Some Good Results Despite Tough Conditions

Last week brought a continuation of the red tide affecting the fishing action on the inshore waters of our area.  We fished hard and managed to pull off some real nice fish on several trips.  Weather was a challenge with some heavy winds mid week preceding a couple of rainy days Thursday and Friday followed by a strong cold front arriving Saturday.

Or main target through the week was anything that would bite.  I tried to stay well inland for the most part, jumping from spot to spot to knock on as many doors as possible and avoid the worst of the red tide.  We caught some very nice redfish ranging to 25 inches using live shrimp cast into pockets along points and shorelines.  Plenty of mangrove snapper were in the mix as well as some small snook, black drum and some sheepshead.  Casting was difficult with very high tides and windy conditions mid- week, but anglers that could get the baits into tight quarters were rewarded.

We also did pretty well on a couple of the trips fishing the outside passes for sheepshead which are congregating to spawn right now.  We caught quite a few ranging up to 3 1/2 pounds using pieces of shrimp fished near bottom structure.

Trout and pompano remained to be scarce due to poor water conditions in and around the outer bays where they are found this time of year.  Conditions seem to be improving and with the wind change occuring with this cold front, I am hopeful that we will see improvement over the next couple of days.

Saturday morning, I fished with long time clients Doug Brown and his sons Jeff and Dave.  We fished as the front moved through and northerly winds increased and experienced some pretty solid fishing compared to the previous days.  The group managed five nice redfish in the half day along with loads of mangrove snapper and black drum.  Here is Jeff with a 25 inch red caught way inland near Rookery Bay Saturday morning…

Capt. Ben Geroy also experienced similar results on his trips during the week.  Some decent redfish along with a mixed bag of other species kept his clients busy while dealing with changing weather conditions and poor water conditions associated with the red tide.  Friday afternoon, Ben headed out in the rain with Mike Dyer and buddies.  They found a couple of nice redfish willing to play along with plenty of snapper and some jack crevalle.  Here is Mike and the group with a nice backcountry  redfish released on 2/15/2013...



- Capt. Todd Geroy

Red Tide Providing New Challenges on Inshore Waters

February 12, 2013


Well, the great fishing we encountered last week came to a bit of a speed bump late last week as red tide creeped inland. The algae bloom, having been prevalent along beaches and just offshore during recent months finally made its way through out the inshore waters of Naples to South Marco Island.  There has been an abundance of dead fish washing up mainly mullet and catfish.  Red tide at this level does not kill our game fish but slows down feeding activity as oxygen levels are depleted.  Click Here to learn more about red tide.




Despite the challenging conditions, we are still hard at it and finding a few very nice fish still willing to bite the hooks.  Redfish in the 22-26 inch range can be found cruising the shallow edges at low tide. Yesterday morning (Monday) we found several schools working in less that 1 foot of water.  They were waking, tailing and feeding heavily near the surface on glass minnows.  We made some accurate casts to fish that we could see and managed to hook up with several nice fish averaging 24 inches.  We took two home for dinner and as I filleted them found that they were completely gorged with the small bait fish.

  Coming off of the new moon phase, tides are running very high in the afternoon.  Anglers who are persistent in getting their baits far under the mangrove cover are also being rewarded with a few nice redfish each trip.

Large sheepshead are being caught along the outside beaches and passes.  Bottom fishing with a piece of shrimp will fool these picky biters.  Some of them are running upwards of five pounds.  Scrappy fighters, they are also great table fish.

Pompano and trout action seems to have subsided for now, but I expect they will return on the scene as soon as the water conditions shape up a little.


- Capt. Todd Geroy

February Fishing is Off to a Great Start in Naples, Florida

February 2, 2013
We ended January and merged into February with some outstanding trips last week!   Coming off of the last full moon, the redfish made a sudden appearance from where ever they had been hiding for the last month or so.  Several trips caught more reds than I have caught total in over two months!  Trout and pompano were also willing to bite as well as some large sheepshead and as many as 12 other species mixed in.

The redfish were most active during the afternoon trips.  High tides and steady southerly winds are often the best combination for redfish here and it all came together.  Anglers on both my boat and Capt. Ben’s boat caught numerous slot sized reds.  The larger ones were right at 26 inches.  Live shrimp delivered under the flooded mangrove overhangs were the ticket to success.  Some decent snapper and a few snook were mixed in with the reds.

A nice redfish boated with Capt. Todd during the last week of January 2013!

Matt with another healthy redfish caught and released with Capt. Ben Geroy last week!

Some great trout and pompano fishing was also available.  We did well on the morning trips using shrimp tipped jigs worked in deep troughs adjacent to shallow bars and flats.  Most of the trout are running in the 15 to 18 inch range.  The pompano are in the same areas and running from 12 inches to 18 inches.

A strong cool front came through Thursday night bringing temperatures down to 45 degrees Friday morning.  We headed out Friday morning with what I promised to be some of my favorite conditions for winter fishing.  It turned out to be a fabulous day with countless redfish, trout, pompano, snook and 10 other species on fire!

Prospects for February are for more of the same.  Capt. Ben still has some openings through the month.  Plan ahead for the best tides options.

- Capt. Todd Geroy

Cooler Weather Brings Some Hot Fishing to Naples Backwaters!

January 26, 2013
This is my last fishing report for January and while this month has had some ups and downs on the fishing front, I must say that it is winding down on the strong side.  Cooler weather moved in on Tuesday evening and as the water temps have dropped gradually, the fish have gotten more concentrated in the back bays south of Naples.

Trout have been the most responsive targets.  We have managed to boat a bunch of nice ones in the 15 to 18 inch range the last few days.  We are doing quite well fishing channels with Berkley Gulp shrimp rigged on 3/8 oz. jig heads.  The most productive spots are in stronger tide flow, especially where there is a break in the current caused by a merging of two channels or a point or shallow bar creating a rip.

Pompano really have turned on as well.  They are being caught in many of the same areas as the trout.  They are averaging 14 to 16 inches.  A shrimp tipped surgical tube jig is deadly.
Redfish remain scattered with only a few fish caught during the week. Early last week,  I had a dedicated and skilled young angler out for an afternoon with his grandfather and friend.  Rich impressed us with his skills with a spinning rod as he was able to repeatedly fire live shrimp way under the mangrove cover.  The results were several redfish in the 23 to 25 inch range for Rich. While we worked hard to find them, the rewards were high.

 Rich with one of his redfish...

With the cooler water, the sheepshead are also making an appearance.  Some of them have been running to about 4 pounds and provide great table fare as well as being strong fighters.

I am looking forward to another busy week and some great winter fishing!


-Capt. Todd Geroy

Great Winter Fishing in the Backwaters of Naples Florida!

Another busy week as we round the corner to the end of January.  Last week was a productive week overall on both boats with myself and Capt. Ben having success on a number of species and the action picking up from the previous week or so.
We both had good success with redfish on several of the trips.  Most were caught at high tide and took live shrimp either free lined under the mangroves or with a small split shot attached.  Most were keeper size, ranging up to 24 inches.
Trout fishing was pretty good  for me, I managed limits on a couple trips while fishing outgoing tides in channels near shallow flats.  Live shrimp were the bait of choice.  Typically, we have good success this time of year with jigs, but the trout have been a bit picky, only taking the shrimp.  In the same areas, we enjoyed some fast action with bluefish to 5 lbs. and some large spanish mackerel to 5 lbs.  Also a good number of pompano and even juvenile permit.

Large spanish mackerel were just one of over 15 different species caught last week with Capt. Todd Geroy

These small permit put up a great fight on light tackle…

Friday, a cool front had come through bringing a drastic change to the temperature overnight.  I headed out with Bob and Scott and hit the deeper creeks to avoid the chilly wind.  We sat in two spots for several hours and had continuous action with large black drum, snook, redfish, sheepshead, snapper and flounder.  As the morning progressed, the lack of sunshine and cold wind had gotten to us and we returned to the dock an hour early to clean fish and thaw out.  Finally the sun broke through as I returned on the afternoon trip and again found a mixed bag of drum, sheepshead, flounder, some nice sea trout and a couple of permit.

Black drum are scrappy fighters and provide great aciton on a chilly day. Not bad on the plate either.

Another busy week ahead of me and I am looking forward to some great winter fishing in the backwaters!

Capt. Todd Geroy