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