Finally we are seeing some lighter winds , warmer temps and this has the inshore fishing firing up .  The  Naples and Marco island areas have been producing some great light tackle action .  Snook have been plentiful from the beaches to the backcountry.

Whether it’s top Water, soft plastics , flies or live bait these have all been producing great numbers of fish on any given day.  The sea trout action has really picked up over the last few weeks. My favorite way to fish for them is a live Pilchard(bait) on a 2/0 circle hook. The trick I like to do with these baits is to trim the tails. You may ask why would you need to do that ?

Trout are not the best hunters as far as casing down a big pilchard . I watched them a lot follow it & Try to eat it but many times the bait will out swim them.  So by trimming the baits tail this allows them to be less maneuverable and the trout are able to grab them with less effort.

There have been Mangrove snapper and jacks to kept us all busy while fishing for our top gamefish . I think finally we are settling into some late April high pressure. Look for our gulf waters to warm up rapidly and this will get the tarpon moving along our beaches. Hope to see y’all on the water …tight lines.!!

Great inshore snook fishing continues around the Naples and Marco island areas .   March is living up to its windy nature.  Hard South winds have been keeping us hunker down deep in the back country around the creeks and bays.  Redfish , snook , sea trout , goliath grouper, jacks and snappers can all be caught in the same areas . With this said, standard backcountry rig is 15lb braided line (power pro ) attached to a 3ft piece of fluorocarbon 30 pound leader . The size hooks i used depends on the size bait I am catching. F

or the bigger Pilchers I like a 3/0 or 2/0 j-hook  & smaller baits a 1/0  j hook .  I’ve been able to catch a lot of live bait during the mornings, which allows me to chum heavy and get these fish in a feeding frenzy. There have been some monster jacks from the 8 to 12 pound range that will show up and absolutely get your drag screaming.  Great tides coming up all week and some great weather predicted.  I am looking forward to a solid week of some great backcountry action. See y’all out on the water!!!!!!

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