by Capt. Bill D’Antuono
The fishing is still amazing offshore of Naples. We have been through a lot with the recent water crisis overtaking South Florida. The Gulf of Mexico fishery rivals the best in the world. It is hard to see all the guides struggling, but I can tell you from my own research and word-of-mouth that even the inshore fishing is great.
On a recent trip, we were greeted by millions of small bait being chased by large pelagic predators. Bait was literally everywhere for a 10-mile North-South run in 80’ of water. We ended up landing a nice gag grouper, big kingfish, and big mangrove snapper up to 25 inches. Visibility was normal for a late-summer dive, 15-20’ on the bottom and 60’ before the thermocline. Cobia have arrived along with the toothy kingfish. I have never seen so much bait!
Recently on our deep-dive trips over 100 feet we were met by a 10-degree change in water temperature. Fish love water around 70 degrees, so many run to deeper water during the summer. We were lucky enough to find some big black grouper, amberjack, mutton snapper, and more. It is truly amazing how much life and different structures there are offshore of Naples. That is what keeps me going.
There are definite signs of our recent harmful algae bloom which is effecting our coast, but the fish are alive and well, even inland areas hit hard like Estero Bay. Keep that in mind when you think about Southwest Florida fishing. Now is a good time to go fishing and there are plenty of guides who would love to get you out in SWFL! If you want to join me on a fishing or diving trip ‘shoot’ me an email.