II fished off Sanibel with Kevin and his two sons. We were greeted by choppy conditions first thin in the morning and this made the fish hard to locate. After a few hours of searching I found a nice pod of fish and promptly hooked the one above. After a grueling 45 minute fight we finally landed this great tarpon.
Fishing with some boys from Wisconsin 3 days this week. With 2 trips under our belt I’d say we have been treated to some fantastic Tarpon action so far. The boys are 4 for 12 on tarpon so far and even had this triple hook up above. I’ll report back after Saturday. Saturday we found plenty of fish but they were unwilling to bite. After a few hours of frustration I ran deep and found a nice school of fish. We managed to hook one fish out of the school leadered it and called it a day. The boys finished 5 for 13.
II fished with Jim and his son Matthew for 2 days in Naples. We had great action on snook along with many jacks a nice seatrout and this nice tarpon pictured above.
The tarpon bite in Naples has been hot. The action has been great for both big tarpon off the beaches and small tarpon in the backcountry. Most of the fish have been taken on thread herring fished under a cork or sight casted in front of a school. The fish in the gulf have been 70+ pounds and the backwater fish have topped out at about 25 lbs. The key to hooking up right now has been fishing the right part of the tide. The tarpon fishing should become even stronger through May and June.
I fished last night with Paul, Dan and Jeff. We caught snook no problem but paul wanted a tarpon after trying a few spots. After trying a few tarpon hunts we dialed one in. After Paul’s first but not last tarpon he and his crew caught around 40 snook.
I fished with Nathan and Troy last week. We decided to head up towards the beaches of Sanibel Island to fish for tarpon. We were greeted that afternoon by calm seas and clean water. When we hit the tarpon grounds the fish were free jumping and rolling all over. I got us set up on our first drift expecting and immediate strike and NOTHING. The fish were all around the boat but not a bite. After about an hour and half we had our first hit. The fish was on for around 3 seconds. Bummer. Finally after the seas became sporty we hooked and landed our first and only tarpon of the day. Goes to show why tarpon are the most sought after fish in the gulf!
I fished today with a new client Hank and his friends Rodney and Mike. This morning was atypical because I had trouble getting bait this morning. After trying for a few minutes I decided to fish what bait we had for an hour or so then try for bait again. Hank and friends started off the morning with a few snook a snapper and a few jacks. After about an hour we tried for bait again and nailed it. We spent the rest of the day picking off and missing around 20 snook an bunch of jack’s and 2 redfish. One red waas over slot sized and the other was under all and all a good day.
I fished with Randy and his wife Cheryl 2 nights this week. Both evenings we were greeted by hungry snook. On the first night we caught a slam (snook, trout, redfish). The second evening we changed things up targeting small and large tarpon and big jacks. We caught a small tarpon then looked towards large one’s. We found a few fish that were just pummeling the mullet. I made one cast right in the school and suddenly 2 dolphins pushed in and killed the bite. We rounded out the night with a bunch of snook and a few bruiser jacks.
I fished a ton of charters last month. On each trip we caught a mix bag of snook, redfish and trout. Lots and lots of trout. As you can see from the pictures in the post every spot I fished there where hungry trout waiting for me. As the weather warms the trout bite will remain hot in the passes, beaches and flats. This is the time of year I catch the largest trout as the big females school up for the spawn. Normally when we find a school of trout we catch just a ton of them they are descent fighters and are great to eat. Book your Naples fishing charter today to see what its all about.
I was planning on fishing snook with Dennis and Eric. Just for the heck of it I made a pass by my tarpon spot just to see if they were there on the great full moon tide we were having. As I rounded the corner I saw a nice fish free jump and I knew it was ON! We went 3 for 5 on tarpon that night loosing one to a broken hook and one threw the hook. After the action slowed we caught about 20 or so snook under some choice docks. The super moon lead to super fishing.