Capt. Dave Stephens
As we move further into storm season things begin to change in our fishery. Let’s start off with storm season first. The area that makes me the most nervous about our local weather, is what happens in the Caribbean. Over the years we have been fortunate to dodge a few major storms. We have also caught a few majors that have changed our fishery. This is the time of year when we start to see fish migrating to our area due to weather. Our pelagic fishery can be a very strong fishery. This is often due to changes in current flows. However, the greatest change in our fish migrations is water temps. As we move closer into fall, leaving summer behind. Well I guess if you call having air temps of the upper 80’s instead of the 90’s, I guess we can call that fall.
Our fishery has actually been great. I have received numerous phone calls about the red tide. I’m here to tell you that the north end of the harbor has no red tide. Our fishery is very strong, and has been all summer long. So were going to give you some of what we have been doing over the past few weeks.
A couple weeks ago me and my buddy from Southwest Florida Fishing Charters fished a double charter. We had 3 anglers on each of our boats for two days, for six hours. Between the two boats we managed to hook an amazing 20 juvenile tarpon. When I say juvenile, I’m talking about fish that ranged 15-25#. We also caught these guys their limit of mangrove snapper. To top it off between the two boat we had no problem putting over 200 hundred snook to the boat. My clients had multiple triple hook ups on snook. It got to the point we just laughed, and said well take pics on the next triple hook up.
The lady fish schools are beginning to get bigger in the harbor. These schools of feeding fish bring in one fish, that everyone is looking for. Yep, it’s the KING. When these lady fish go into a feeding frenzy feeding on glass minnows or small bait fish. The king shows up, looking for his share! Well folks when he shows up, I highly recommend having a big rod. Trust me, you are going to need one. On the average these fish are pushing 80-150 pound. I guess it takes a lot to migrate down south. Well folks please keep an eye on the sky, were still not out of the summer storm pattern.
If you would like to experience some of South West Florida’s finest fishing? Give us a call or send an email. All of our charters are private and customized to fit you and your party’s needs.
Capt. Dave Stephens
(941) 916-5769