By: Capt. Bart Marx
Fishing in Southwest Florida is getting better every week. There has been little rain and that tends to let the water get very clear. This is a great time to practice your knot tying putting on some new clear and longer leaders than you usually use as this helps so fish don’t become leader shy. Sometimes you need to get out some ten-pound test line and make it twenty-five feet long. This is very helpful if you are fishing offshore for snapper like mangrove and yellowtail snapper. This time of year, out in the 80′ to 100′ range on some wrecks or reefs is a great place to start. You may even find an amberjack if you have a live bait out behind the boat while you are bottom fishing/bonus rod and if there are any shrimp boats out there, get to them early in the morning while they are cleaning off the deck of their bycatch. This creates a huge feeding frenzy and at times you may catch some black fin tuna in their chum slick, however, usually plenty of sharks too. In closer to shore 40′ to 60′ there should be plenty of white grunts for the table. Maybe some porgies, lane snapper and mangrove too. Closer to the beach in 30′ to 40′ of water sheepshead will still be biting as they are in spawn mode. Moving inshore, you will find sheepshead around the docks and oyster bars where there are plenty of crustations to feed on. Trout and reds along the mangroves will be scattered on the grass flats on the edges of the sand holes, and along the edges of the sand bars there may be some pompano cruising along looking for something to eat like a shrimp or a small jig. In some of the deep holes you may find a cobia feeding on lady fish or small baits. There are plenty of species to hunt for this month to catch a fresh fish meal. If you would like to come along with Capt. Bart Marx, call or e-mail me at captbart@alphaomegacharters.com or you can call 941-979-6517. I also do private charters up to four anglers on my boat for half days only. And if you are new to our area and would like a Training Session with Capt. Bart on your boat using your gear will shorten your learning curve. For me this helps protect our fragile grass flats and keeps you from damaging your boat, making it a win-win training session for all!