Our star attraction of the inshore waters continues to be the redfish. From south of Everglades City to Estero Bay and everywhere in between, the “rat” red brigades are providing a lot of anglers with great action. Catches of up to 40 or even 50 fish in a full-day outing are not rare.

The best bite has been on the incoming tides as the water starts to cover up some of the real estate that is created by the very low tides. Find an island, point, or oyster bar, and throw some version of a shrimp or tipped jig. Most of the fish are eating very lightly, but once you have caught one or two, it becomes much easier to hook them.

Sheepshead, black drum, and of course, ladyfish are all around to provide backup if the trout or reds aren’t cooperating. Many anglers are saying that while they are catching an occasional big sheepshead, the real run of the big guys hasn’t happened yet. Gary Frazier landed one of those big boys that went about six pounds last week. He was throwing a jig with a shrimp threaded on, and fishing a wooded bank.

The big boats have enjoyed the recent nice weather, and made the best of the last few days of red grouper season. Much of the action is taking place well offshore in 85 to 90 feet of water. With the red grouper action shut down until April, the offshore action will focus on snapper. Mangroves are around, and have been very willing to eat all the live shrimp you care to buy, but again the action seems to be farther offshore than we normally see. Perhaps warmer water will bring them a lot closer to the beach.

This Sunday through Wednesday, the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust will be putting on a presentation at the Conservancy. Supporters are urged to call 248-8380 for additional information.

Ten Thousand Islands: Fishing south of Everglades City, Capt. Brandon Acosta recently ran a two-day trip for a group of guys from Maryland. Brandon targeted quiet points and bars, where his anglers caught countless reds, mostly on the incoming tides. Using a shrimp-tipped jig, they caught fish after fish, and while most were shorts, they did get eight fish in the 19- to 26-inch range.

Capt. Aron Blaisdale fished on Tuesday with Tom Bost and his friend Frank from Pennsylvania, and “it was one of those magic days when fish were eating on both tides.” Trout were making their presence known in the clearing water, and Aron’s anglers got a “bunch,” with a fair number in the 23- to 24-inch range. The bigger fish were in the shallower water, and were found one or two at a time. A shrimp-tipped jig worked on the reds, too, and Blaisdale said that Tom and Frank landed over 50 fish.

Naples/Estero Bay: On Friday, I fished with Mike Hicks, Mike Davies and Day Richard Davies in Estero for a half day. The water was extremely low first thing, and the fishing started slow. After catching a few short trout and the ever present ladyfish, we made a move to look for reds. In our remaining time, the group landed 19 of them, with one being a nice, 6 1/2-pound fish that was invited home for dinner. A shrimp on a jig did the trick.

Sunday, I fished with Bill Hickman, and we started out with just three dozen shrimp. Fishing was good. In a short time, we landed 29 reds, one flounder, three sheepshead and four ladyfish. Yes, that is 37 fish on three dozen shrimp, but we were cutting the shrimp in half as our supply dwindled.

Capt. Seth Hayes has been running his trips, and reporting the same kinds of fishing. His anglers are also getting a few trout, lots of ladyfish, and the occasional pompano. Good to see them start hitting again. But it is the redfish that make up the bulk of the catch, and they are great action.

Tomas Godlasky fished recently with Capt. Steve Nagy, and in addition to the above mentioned species, they caught several snook. As the water warms, the number of snook reports will grow significantly. Capt. Nagy is using Hybrid Flurry baits on a jig, as well as live shrimp. He is catching most of his trout using a shrimp under a popping cork, while working the grass flats.

Offshore: Onboard the “Sea Spirit,” Capt. Bob Fisher took out a group from Ave Maria on Monday to target red grouper on the last day of the season. Bob ran out 35 miles to 90 feet of water to hit the keepers. And keepers they got, 10 of them up to 25 inches, using cut and live bait. Mangroves are out there, too, and you can get them using live shrimp, but some will also fall to a piece of cut sardine.

Capt. Mike Lucas took Joe Maley and his family out for a last shot at grouper. He found his fish in 85 feet of “beautiful” water, and they put seven up to 27 inches into the ice box. Mike also said there is a mixed bag of snappers to be had out there, and as the water temperature improves over the current 61 degrees, the snapper fishing should pick up.

If you have a report to share, send it to captsnookus@hotmail.com

Written by Capt Steve Nagy

The Hybrid FlurryI have used lots of baits throughout my life. You name it and I’ve tried it, like every one I am partial to top water dog walkers. Recently, I was introduced to a new, soft swim bait by Edge Products called The Hybrid Flurry. Now I know what you’re thinking, all swim baits are the same, not true. The Hybrid Flurry has a larger button tail, which gives it lots of vibration; so much you can feel it when you are reeling it in. The three-inch Flurry works great on Snook, Trout, Red Fish and anything else that eats small baitfish. The four-inch Flurry works well on Tarpon and other large game fish species such as Striped Bass and large Blue Fish. When I am using the Hybrid Flurry for Snook and Red Fish I like to rig it on a 1/8oz to 1/4oz jig head and just use a strait and slow retrieve. Now on the color, I like White, Key Lime and Purple/White but that’s just my preference, they come in over thirty color combinations. When I am fishing for Trout I use the same rig I use for Snook and Red Fish but add an oval popping cork like a Cajun Thunder style. I also like to use a light leader between the corks and jig 20lb Flora carbon. You can also rip it across grass flats and jig it in deeper cuts and holes; all are very effective methods for Trout. When choosing a bait size, remember to always match the hatch.                            Red Fish… I like to use a 1/4 oz jig head and bright colored Hybrid Flurries. The best methods are working Mangrove shorelines on a high tide skipping the Hybrid Flurry under overhanging Mangrove branches and roots. I also like to jig them around Oyster Bars. When jigging always stay in contact with the jig by not letting your line go slack but loose enough to let the jig fall as natural as possible. Fish the Oyster Bars at the last half of a high tide or the first half of a falling tide. Don’t be afraid to experiment with jig weights and different color combinations that is best suited for your particular fishing conditions and area. Click below for the full article.

http://www.theonlinefisherman.com/component/content/article/72-reviews-of-fishing-products-internal/707-the-hybrid-flurry

Bradley Leopold

Thanks Bradley from all of us at Edge Products for the great story!

Summer time fishing is in full swing with a mix bag of fish.  Snook are on the beaches and passes.   Look for them cruising the shoreline early in the morning.  You can use a live pilchard or a small Buck Tail Jig.  Redfish can be found under the bushes at high tide and out on the grass flats at low tide early in the morning.  Use a Hybrid Flurry on a ¼ ounce jig head or cut bait.

Tarpon are still along the beaches and in the passes.  You can drift the passes using live threads or live pass crabs.  Out on the beaches look for rolling fish and then set up in front of them and let the fish come to you.  Use live threads free lined or pass crabs.

The trout can still be found on the grass flats early in the morning.  Use top water plugs like Skitter Walk’s or Chug bugs.  You can also use a Clacker Cork with a Hybrid Flurry. 

Remember the sun is very strong.  Make sure to cover up with UV protected clothing and lots of sun block lotion.  

Capt. Steve Nagy

www.bonitaspringsfishing.com

239-398-1528

This was a big event for us. For some reason over the past 3 years our average finish in Marina Del Ray is lower than any other event location on the circuit. Makes no sense, good Sand bass and Calico fishing very close.  Looking at the standings going into it, we had a nice lead in the AOTY race but we really did not want to give up points in an event we should be doing well in. We limited the pre-fish, wanted to go in without a plan and just go fishing but focus on Calico’s in the Palos Verdes area. Ran on up in the morning and noticed the water temp had dropped 5 degree’s and knew fishing was going to be tougher than it should be. Settled in and had 3 small bass around 8:30am and were really waiting for the tide to fill in. Around 9:30am I hung a 5lber, from there we began to pattern the bigger fish on rocks in 8-10’ fish extremely slow make multiple casts. We alternated the 1oz. Blade Runner Spinner Bait, with the 5”  Swim baits both covered in Hot Sauce. We ended up going through 25 keepers, for just under 22lbs. Wasn’t enough to win  but it was enough to hold our lead for AOTY. We are headed to Santa Barbara where we just missed a win last year and are looking forward to some good Calico fishing.

 Thank you again,

 Matt Kobzeff and Scott Pethtel

Team KillSwitch

Check out thier ProStaff Page on EdgeFishing.com http://edgefishing.com/html/matt_scott.html

Matt Kobzeff & Scott Pethtel

Captains meeting was set for the Wednesday prior to the tournament. Food was catered by Chilis “Thanks Benny” after some grub and paying entry fees they raffled a few prizes and announced the starting boat. Boat 75 will start it off which means I am in the last flight. Plan was to fish PV, I was not able to get out and pre-fish and rumors of a red tide had us thinking about fishing deep for the spawning sandbass.

Alarm went off quick at 2:15 am, hooked the boat up, grabbed some tea and off to pick up Brandon in Newport. Next stop Marina Del Rey we arrive early “No Nerves Just Amped”. Check in with the SWBA team, and pay the Big Fish Side Pot. Back at the boat for a few last minute tweaks and we dump the boat in the Water. 50+ boats line up and wait for the National Anthem which followed some shouts and whistles and at 5:30am the starting boat was called out. As SWBA Director,James Shamblin called out the numbers Boat 65 was radioed and we were off to PV, about a 30 minute run in sheet glass and a minimal swell.

First spot wasn’t promising as the kelp was thick and in tight. I lube up on the Sauce and start firing away, and hook up with a 13 inch fish right off the bat. We drift down to a high spot with a boiler exposed and my partner Brandon Cotton hooks up with a bigger fish, NICE second fish in the boat and its a toad. PSYCHED!!!!!!!! We bounce around put a 2.5 in the well and we are in good shape with 3 in the well and its only 7am.

SWBA Tournament Director, Eric Bent rolls up on us and asks if JT from Inside Sport Fishing can join us. He did some quick on the water interviews checked out the fish in the livewell and kept invisible on the Whaler. Put a few fish on camera, hooked a big Halibut had a blast and he was picked up after a couple hours. JT is one of the coolest guys I have met and he is welcome on my boat anytime….

PV was a little stagnate so we bounced back into the deeper kelp lanes as the conditions looked really good. Got the rest of our limit but really needed to get rid of 2 of our smaller fish. The Bracket on my transducer cracked so deep spots were out of the question. We gave it our all and we left with 55 minutes as we new the ride up the line would take longer. We arrive at the MDR wall with 20 minutes to spare, see the check in boat and decide to fish the wall.

I start flipping a 3\4 oz warhead matched with a 5″ Condor lubed with Hot Sauce and start working the wall. I get bit set the hook and cull out the smallest fish with a 2 pound calico 15 minutes to go. Brandon hooks up next and culls out a 15″ calico with a 2.25 sand bass. We are going crazy rack the rods life vests on and jam in with minutes to spare……

We weighed in our 5 fish for 14 pounds and our big fish weighed in a 5.6 which was good enough for 16th place. Tough day on the water but we made the most of it worked well as a team, and we have a little momentum going into Round 5.

We threw Swimbaits, Iron and Condors all day lubed in Hot Sauce………..

Scott Pohle
Fishtrax_65

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