Well, the hot part of the fishing report has remained consistent. Unless you are going offshore, I would highly recommend starting early. Tidal movement in the shallow waters is an important factor with this high mid-day heat. The nearshore bite will happen a little longer with the sea breeze and deeper water. Those that get offshore chasing American reds, mangrove snappers, as well as muttons should be aware of thunderstorms. Running in from offshore, you better have the latest in radar, or now you can be in trouble. Hurricane season is in full speed now, and it is not the hurricane you need to be afraid of. The warm water will consistently fire up afternoon thunderstorms, for at least two more months.
The offshore bite continued to be good. American reds are still being caught easily. The best bite for the AR’s starts in about 180 feet. Live pinfish have worked well on everything out that deep. African pompano, blackfin tunas, as well as some wahoos have also been reported in those same depths. The boats that stayed in closer 70-100-feet caught their limits of mangrove snappers, yellowtail snappers, as well as some hogfish this week.
The nearshore bite was not as good as week previous, except for permit. The permit bite continues to go well on all the high relief wrecks. The rains that have been inland and along our beaches cause lots of crabs to flow out of our passes, on the strong outgoings. These small 1-3-inch crabs are exactly what the permit will want to eat. Another use for the larger crabs will be to fish for tarpon. I did not see many tarpon in the southern part of the region, but got some good reports from the Captiva area and north. Mackerel, sharks, and an occasional cobia will be the bycatch on the reefs.
The inshore bite this week was just ok. The best trips were those that we started early. When we got out at sunrise, we had some good fishing for a few hours. Juvenile tarpon took up most of our time on the early morning starts. When we fished starting later due to tides or client wants, if was a tougher bite. Red fishing was not that good this week and the best snook bite was along our beaches. The large amount of rain has lowered the salinity levels in our back bays making the trout bite difficult as well. On a good note, the water has now cleaned up a bit and the pompano are once again back!
Tight lines, Capt. Greg Stamper
Snookstampcharters.com, Fort Myers beach
239-313-1764
Early bird special
