Finally our weather here in the Naples and Marco island areas has been on a warming trend .  We are seeing temperatures consistently in the upper 80s and light winds everyday. With that said inshore fishing has been action packed. The sea trout bite has been on fire as they are spawning and very hungry. I fish for them exactly the same way as if I were targeting snook or Redfish.  I like a 30lb leader with a 2/0 hook and nice lively pilchard (baitfish ).

One tip in getting a good hook set on these fish is when u feel a strike is to give them a few seconds to swim off before setting that hook. They are not known for blistering runs like a Snook but I do see some of them jump when hooked & they almost always come to the surface with a violet headshake. There has been a consistent jack bite going on and they are all just mixed in with the trout ,snapper and snook so be ready for that drag to scream.

The rest of the this weeks forecast  looks to be more of the same , high temperatures and hopefully more hungry fish. See y’all on the water.!!!


Capt Tim Daugherty

The Naples and Marco Island inshore fishing continues to produce some great light tackle fishing.  In these  areas bait is key to having a stellar day on the water. I start off every morning with hunt for live bait(pilchards, threadfin herring ) witch at times can be harder to catch than the fish we are targeting. You really have to pay close attention to your surroundings as these pilchards are always on the move.  Some key things to look for are birds ( pelicans / turns ) diving & on the slick days look for bait  flipping on the surface ( look close at pict above ).   

Snook have been top on our target list and I have been finding some really good ones inside the creeks mouths. Low incoming tides have been the best for finding these fish laid up waiting for an easy meal.  Sea trout , jacks  and snapper have been mixed in with the snook so be ready for anything.  We are just coming off another cold front that cooled the gulf waters down yet again. Look for the end of this week,  temps to rise as high pressure settles in  & this should fire up the fishing yet again !  See yah on the water!

Despite some windy conditions, we are still catching some nice fish around in Naples in Marco in Island areas. Snook are still number one on my target list. It’s that time of year when I start to find some bigger snook around the creek mouths.

Big live baits(pilchards) are the key to getting these big fish to come up off the bottom and chase your bait.  Most of the time You will see the strike,  so remember to have a slight delay in your Hook-set to allow that fish to make a turn.

We’ve also been finding some nice mangrove snapper’s in the deeper holes on the incoming tides . My rig for snapper simple , 25 pound fluorocarbon attached to 1/0 j hook . Still having the chum very heavy with live baits  to get the bigger ones out of their hiding spots. The Sea trout bite has been picking up and I am able to find them just about every trip.

I fish them the same way I fish for snook , 30lb leader with a 2/0 J hook but at times I will add a split shot to get the bait to the bottom.  Looking like some much needed rain coming our way this week so look for a winds to turn to the N and temps to drop slightly. This will slow up the bite a bit but it won’t take long for the weather to stabilize and things to fire back up . C u on the water!

Capt. Tim Daugherty
www.fishthesalt.com
(239) 280-8138

The inshore fishing has been a mixed bag of Fun !!!! My favorite part of fishing around the Naples and Marco Island area is the variety of species of fish that we can catch on any given day. Snook are always top on my hit list but we also have redfish, pompano, sea trout , grouper , snapper and Tarpon to name a few.

With the gulf waters now in the upper 70s, I am starting to see some big tarpon showing up in the back bays and passes .  This is a great time of year to get up super early and target some of these giants with artificials or livebait. The best conditions are light winds as these big tarpon are easy to spot at first light. Look for fish to be rolling or just under the surface, pushing a wake . Always remember to present your bait well in front of a cruising fish and drag it into their cone of vision.  Make sure if you’re on the trolling motor searching ,to keep it slow and steady not to make sudden speed adjustments as his fish can be spooky in the shallow waters.  

As gulf waters warm up even more look for the fishing to just get better and better..  Another one of my favorite fish to target is pompano . Not only are they exceptionally tasty, but they are a great fight on light tackle. Concentrate on the incoming tides around passes and near shore sand flats . These fish are cruising the bottom, so make sure that your jig is making bottom contact. Any bright colors(chartreuse and pink) seem to work well and you can tip those jigs with a finger nail size piece of shrimp and you got yourself a dynamite pompano rig. Looking at the extended forecast, we are due to have another exceptional week of warm weather. That means get up early to beat the heat and enjoy some great March fishing. C yah all on the water!

Capt. Tim Daugherty
www.fishthesalt.com
(239) 280-8138