By: Capt. Terry Fisher
The annual Ft. Myers Boat Show will be held at the Ft. Myers Convention Center and all of the grounds surrounding it November 13-16 this month. Captain Terry Fisher of Fish Face Charters will be on hand each day outside of the Convention Center at the Seminar Tent located close to the food trucks, dining tent, large bar and entertainment facilities from 11am-3pm to host 3 daily extensive talks with illustrations for catching inshore and offshore species native to Southwest Florida waters.
Seminar times are:
- 11am-Noon;
- 12:30pm-1:30pm;
- 2pm-3pm.
The outside areas as well as inside the Convention Center will feature virtually every marine product that is related to our ‘Floridian Lifestyle’. Each seminar will include inshore and offshore techniques, proper equipment recommendations and fishing locations. All fishing seminars are sponsored by Coastal Angler Magazine!
November is a transitional month for climate and water levels. This means whatever one was doing or where ever one was fishing will all begin to change. Fish will be in different locations from springtime, summer and fall months when water levels are high more often than not. Each of the above seminars will include how to fish the winter months with the same amount of success by focusing on the fish species that become more prominent in the waters.
For example, inshore fishing, including for redfish, will require working areas other than the spoil islands and back country as the lower tide levels will limit access. I suggest that when water levels are low, fish the beaches, passes and docks on either incoming or outgoing tides. Other species such as snook, mangrove snapper and sheepshead will be in those vicinities as well. Seatrout as always, will be found on the grass flats in 3-6ft. of water. My baits of choice are shrimps for the seatrouts, mangrove snapper and sheepshead. However, I prefer to use pilchards for snook. Blue crab, shrimp and cut pinfish for redfish. All of these species only require light tackle rods with small spinning reels with lines and leaders to match.
Stone crab season is open and there will now be buoys offshore that will hold and attract triple tail. They can be easy targets once you find them. However, scouting for them may prove to be frustrating and expensive due to the gas expense incurred by running and gunning for miles. Nonetheless, they are fun to catch and delicious to eat. They will be hanging around those buoys. When I locate one, I cast a light weighted Jig Head with a large shrimp next to the buoy and hope they take the presentation. They are easy to spook so use a lot of stealth when approaching them. The same size of light tackle is recommended for triple tail.
Offshore: kingfish, spanish mackerel, cobia and other Pelagic species will be arriving in our area. Reef species, including groupers, snappers, tilefish are in healthy supply but most success up until now has been 40 to 60 miles offshore due to warm water temperatures. This should change up in this month as surface and water temperatures cool down.
Equipment depends on current speeds and fishing depths which vary throughout the day.
Baits of choice for reef species will vary but include the standard baits such as, shrimps, squid, Sardines and Threadfins. The equipment such as rods and reels need to be heavier than those for inshore fishing, but not by too much.
Recommended equipment for inshore and offshore such as; rods, reels, line, leader strengths, hook sizes, types of baits and rigging will all be covered in detail at the 2025 Ft. Myers Boat Show during each fishing seminar.
November might be one’s last chance this year to score a redfish of a Lifetime!
1)Â Â Â Fish the top half of the incoming or outgoing tides.
2)Â Â Â When possible, fish with wind directions out of the south, southeast or southwest as the water levels will tend to be higher with the wind pushing the water in from offshore providing access to remote, less pressured areas around uninhabited Mangrove Islands. Higher water levels provide Redfish with more protection as they scourer the oyster beds and mangrove roots for food.
3)Â Â Â Make bait presentations as close to the mangroves and oyster beds as possible.
4)Â Â Â A presentation of more than 6 feet from where they are holding most likely will prevent a strike, so make several casts along the mangrove and oyster bed lines before moving to a different location.
All of this and more will be presented and discussed in detail at the 2025 Ft. Myers Boat Show Seminar Events. Hope to see you there.
This is Captain Terry Fisher of Fish Face Charters wishing everyone good November fishing results. Call me at 239-357-6829 or email me at fishfacecharters@yahoo.com to book a charter on my vessel or yours. I am available as ‘Captain for Hire’ (by the hour) for inshore and offshore instructions providing safety, navigational instructions, techniques and fishing locations to make your every trip a success. Check out my website at www.fishfacecharters.com.