Charlotte Harbor | Boca Grande Fishing Report

Fishing in southwest Florida is hotter that ever; from Redfish and Snook to offshore fishing for Grouper and Kingfish. Well, let’s start with the backcountry and focus on what has been providing the most consistent action. Early fall tends to be the best time for catching big Redfish. These fish school up in large numbers on bars, flats and near passes. When targeting these schooling fish, they can be taken by artificial or live bait. For the artificial anglers, now is the time to fish for the redfish. Many times when the fish are schooled up they will literally fight one another to feed. Casting a minnow profile bait like a Sebile Stick Shadd 114 SU is ideal in these conditions. For the live bait angler, your day could be filled with hours of arm tiring rod bending drag screaming action. Any time you can get the school to respond to chummed live bait, your likely to have some of the best action of the year.

For the snook angler the bite continues. For the most part the snook have left the beach area and are in their post spawn pattern. Most of the snook are being caught right now with live bait either pinfish or whitebait. Most points and mangrove shorelines are loaded up with a variety of snook of all sizes. Best bet is fishing the incoming tide and key in on the morning hours, and getting your bait will be found throughout the harbor from Devilfish Key to Pirate Harbor.

Now lets take it offshore. There are many things to talk about in the way offshore fishing. Whether your a grouper digging angler, or if you like the pelagic species such as kingfish, bonita, or even some dorado – all of which can be caught right now off our coastline. Now is the time to get the Kingfish gear ready to go. The Kingfish bite has just started to ramp up in our area and trolling live bait or king spoons are great methods for catching those big smokers. There have been reports of Dorado being caught at the 20 mile mark and even some wahoo at the 30 mile mark. Most of which have been trolled and the grouper action is also really getting turned on. Throughout the season the grouper bite has been good, however as fall begins the grouper fishing gets better when the water temp drops. The grouper also move in closer to the nearshore reefs and ledges. Live pinfish is also a good choice for bottom fishing for grouper. Many gag grouper and red grouper are caught with good slot sizes in the 24-30″ range.

Overall the fishing has been good. As we get further along into the fall and we start to get cold fronts rolling into our area the fishing will only get better. Get out and do some fishing! Tight Lines.

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Southwest Florida Fishing Report – October 1, 2009
10/02/20090 Comment(s) Redfish, Redfish, and more Redfish.

The past couple of weeks the redfish have really been getting together in the typical fall pattern. Many anglers are having luck with artificials and live bait. The key to finding these large schools of redfish are covering lots of ground keying in on points, bars, and large expansive flats with sand holes and turtle grass. One thing you will be able to identify with is the about of mullet near these large schools of redfish. Bottom line, where the bait is, the redfish are not going to be far behind.

Snook fishing has also been very strong. Ideal places to find them right now are mouths of tidal creeks and docks. Live pinfish seems to be the best bet for large snook and whitebait seems to be able to get the numbers. Whitebait can be found in many different area’s around Charlotte Harbor. Devilfish Key and Jug Creek Shoal seem to have the largest abundance of bait. If your trying to target large snook with pinfish or even larger snook with Ladyfish, I would suggest buying a box of frozen sardines and break apart about a dozen and use them for the chum to bring in the fairly large pinfish. As mentioned before, Ladyfish are also a great giant snook bait. Most anglers will only use the head down to the dorsal of the ladyfish. Keep in mind, BIG snook do not like to move much for their food, a tasty ladyfish body could be the perfect breakfast.

Around the area…. lots of spanish, ladyfish, bluefish and pompano have been caught. Many anglers have found these fish to be targeting small glass minnows in the harbor, however there have been some great reports of these fish on the beach. If you do venture to the beach, cut up one or two of those ladyfish and drift it behind the boat with a short piece of steel leader and a 3/0 hook. You many be very surprised as to what you will catch.

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Southwest Florida Fishing Report, Sept 15
09/16/20090 Comment(s) Out early and back before the storms…Fishing has been really good on the inshore scene. Good catches of redfish are being reported throughout southwest Florida. Many area’s are seeing schooling reds gather together. Anglers targeting these schools should plan on having baits that can be cast long distances such as the Sebile Stick Shadd 114 for the Ghost Walker 110. If you plan to use live bait, make sure you get plenty for using chum. Chumming the redfish to the boat with live bait can be a very effective way to have hours of fun.

The snook bite is on… some very good reports of snook in all area’s of southwest Florida. Best bet is Pinfish or whitebait. Snook have a primary diet of pinfish and in most cases pinfish will catch you the trophy catch however, for numbers whitebait is tough to beat. Whitebait can be chummed very easily. Of course snook can also be suckers for artificials as well. Most of the time are topwater can get the attention of a looking snook.

Offshore fishing has been a little tough in between storms. The reports I have been getting have been good if your willing to make a 15-20 mile plus run. Some of the best reports have been using pinfish that are cast-netted on the flats before heading out. Using knocker rigs for bottom fishing grouper and snapper. Trolling has also been a good way to cover ground going from spot to spot. A new bait for trolling is the Sebile Magic Swimmer 228. The Magic Swimmer can be trolling at up to 7 knots and as slow as a simple drift. Some anglers are finding success rigging the Sebile Magic Swimmer “Carolina Rigged”. By “bump trolling” many catches of grouper and kingfish are being caught.

Southwest Florida Fishing, Sept. 1
09/02/20090 Comment(s) Well, the fishing continues to be good at first light of the morning. If you’re a topwater fan, now is the time to get out there. Our morning topwater bite has been great. Good catches of snook and redfish are being taken on topwater such as Sebile Slim Stick in Hollow Grennie and also on the Ghost Walker of many different colors. The trick to a good topwater bite is slow steady retrieve with the walk the dog action. Most morinings have been very calm which is ideal for topwater. Try and focus on points and good tidal flow and you’ll find the action.

The flats are loaded with sharks. From Bulls to Blacktips the choice is yours. Many of these sharks can be sight casted to with a heavy action spinning rods and a large spinning reels with lots of line. I have found the best bait is Ladyfish cut into strips or Bluefish fillets. If you find many sharks on the sand bars, simplly stake out and chum around the boat with chuncks of Ladyfish. Within a short time you will be able to choose the shark you want to catch.

Southwest Florida Fishing Report, August 15
08/25/20090 Comment(s) The hot, days of summer are here and the fishing is hotter than ever.

Just remember to be fishing when the fish are active. Early morning and late evening are best. Redfish have been very cooperative with recent catches averaging 4-15 lbs. The early bite seems to be the better time of day to capitalize on these schooling redfish. A typical late summer tradition for redfish to school up in large numbers and to be very aggressive as they feed up for the fall run.

Baits that have been working well have been topwater Sebile Ghost Walker 95 in Amber Fashion and also in Natural Shiner. Other baits working well are soft plastics from exude like the new color “Old Penny” rigged weedless. Don’t forget the cut ladyfish as an option when the artificial bite is tough.

Snook fishing has been getting better and better. As the snook finish the spawn on the beaches the post spawn bite has been pretty consistent. Most of the snook are caught this time of year on pinfish and whitebait. However, there are still plenty of snook that will take an artificial. Sebile Stick Shadd has been the most productive in the Silver Liner Color. As we near Sept. 1 for opening season on snook we will have plenty of other reports on snook action.

Offshore and in the Harbor.

Snapper fishing has been very strong in Boca Grande Pass with daily limits being caught everyday. Offshore grouper fishing has been steady with good catches in the 50-70 foot range. A few kingfish have been caught trolling or drifting live bait such as threadfin herring or bluerunners. Also some recent catches of dorado have been reported in the 80-110 mile all trolling with rigged ballyhoo and Sebile Magic Swimmer.

Southwest Florida Fishing Report, July 30
07/30/20090 Comment(s) Ok, well now it’s obvious that the summer heat is here, but so is the hot action. I know most of you are hoping it’s a real glamorous report. However, the typically redfish and snook bite are just mediocre at best. Yes in the southwest, the fishing is real good in the morning hours and then quickly diminishes as the days wares on. The best bite for Snook is twilight hours under the dock lights for snook using a small 54 mm Sebile Bonga Minnow or a DOA glow shrimp. Snook can also be caught on the outside bars and points that have good tidal flow.

Redfish on the other hand have been hit or miss. Some reports have said the redfish are feeding on small shrimp and glass minnows early and then retreating to deeper water as the temperature rises. Right now the redfish can be caught on a simple ¼ oz red jig head tipped with shrimp. If you like to use artificials than the choice baits would be Sebile Stick Shadd 72 in Amber Fashion color or maybe a New Penny Fishbites shrimp rigged weedless on an Owner twist lock 4/0 hook.

There have been some reports of good bait caught all around the Devilfish Key area and near Cape Haze point but most of the bait is very small around 1-2 inches. Best bet is to have a 10’ ¼ mesh net to limit the number of baits gilled in your net. One of the benefits of the small bait is for the snapper fishing. The Mangrove snapper fishing is very strong in the southwest region. Whether your flats fishing over a small brush pile or deep dropping in Boca Grande pass the snapper bite is on fire. Many reports have come in with limits being caught in just a couple of hours. Snapper fishing is best with light tackle and very light leader. Many times if you’re fishing the flats you can chum the snapper up to the surface for some non stop fish catching action. Until next time, tight lines and good fishing!

Southwest Florida Fishing Report, July 19
07/20/20090 Comment(s) Well, summer time is in full swing with the heat and the southwest winds. The fishing both inshore and offshore has been good but the key is getting out there early.

Consistent catches of redfish on top water have been there for any angler that is willing to get started early in the A.M. Best bet is the Sebile Bonga Minnow in the 54 mm size and Amber Fashion color. Good reports of snook under the dock lights and bridges just before daylight. As the sun rises and the water starts to heat back up to the low 90’s the fishing dramatically slows down. Fishing from about 5:30 am to about 9 am is when you will find the most activity on both redfish and snook.

The bait hatch of “whitebait” has covered the flats and bars. This is a good area to be on the look out for nice Spotted Seatrout, Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel. Along with the inshore bite is Pompano. Many reports of some nice pompano have been caught at the passes and on the beach. Pompano have caught on a variety of jigs and shrimp on a jig head. By far my favorite pompano jig is the ½ oz. Nylure orange and red with a chrome head.

On a last note, the offshore fishing has been good when you can go. The strong winds from the southwest have been keeping many anglers at the dock. However, some reports have been coming in with good grouper and snapper numbers in the 20-30 mile range and even some cobia caught on the nearshore reefs.

Now having said that… Boca Grande Pass has been offering some nice catches of Mangrove snapper and short red grouper. So even if the wind is howling the bottom fishing in BGP can still be a good bet.