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
