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