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

Finally getting some warm weather back into south Fl and this has the fishing fired up ! The Naples and Marco Island fishing has remained steady.  During my trips I’m not catching big numbers of snook but the ones we are hooking up with have been really nice size.  We have been seeing negative low tides all week so sometimes it’s just a mission to get into the spots that have been holding  fish without running aground.

I am still concentrating on deeper shoreline that have lots of structure & current as they seem to always hold fish .    Live bait(pilchards )has been easy to get most days on the nearshore wrecks and ruble piles.  When the tides switch and start coming in I like to be stationed up way back in the creeks . I find this is a great place to not only catch fish that are traveling into the backcountry to feed but also it bunches up the fish that have stayed in the deeper holes.

A free lined pilchard is always the best go to rig for me but I also like to send one down to the bottom with a split shot. I have been catching some smaller gag and Goliath grouper using this method. Looking like this warm weather is here to stay for another week so get out on the water and enjoy some great south Florida winter time fishing.

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

Winter time fishing in Naples and Marco island areas continue to produce great inshore action.  In between cold fronts when our weather settles the bite picks right back up. Snook, snapper , sea trout , jacks and pompano have all been our targets. The Pompano and sea trout have been liking the D.O.A paddle tails we have been feeding them while the snook are all about that live bait (pilchards).

This time of year I like to use both on a given day as our water are still cool in the low 70s.  Low morning incoming tides have these fish in the deeper holes so make sure to get you baits deep amongst the mangroves and be ready for that bait to get hammered.  Look for good weather to settle in this weekend and gulf temps to jump up a few degrees and the fishing to pick up.
C u on the water!! 

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

We have been seeing some great temperatures in the Naples and Marco Island areas .  When our weather stabilizes & temps increase the fishing action gets red hot . I am still finding some really nice snook on the outside points and shorelines that have good current . You don’t want too much current as this can keep the fish hunkered down as they do not like to burn to much energy chasing fish if they don’t have to. Look for a  Nice steady, rolling current and this will keep them on the edge of the structure looking for an easy meal to pass by.

There have been some really nice sea trout in the back Bays where again there is a good steady current in combination with a drop off. You have to think of it this way,  to a fish it’s a buffet line that is constantly moving .  There’s been some good Tripletail fishing on the offshore stone crab traps.  This is easy fishing,  you just have to pick your day & make sure you have nice sunshine ( to sight fish them )and light winds, and enough fuel to burn. 

Live bait has been all over the off shore wrecks and reefs . Make sure you throw nothing less than 3/8 in 10ft cast net as you need the heavy weight to get down to the bottom. This is where a good depth finder & side scan can really be a game changer. It’s looking like we got another small front do in this Saturday eve so make sure you get out and enjoy while the getting is good !!!!! C u on the water !

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

Warm weather is back on the rise in the Naples and Marco islands area.  With this said, look for the fishing to keep improving each day .  These past few cold fronts have had the bigger snook offshore hunkered down on the wrecks and reefs & are now starting to show back up looking for their next meal. I have had no problem getting live bait(pilchards ) offshore on the wrecks but with waters temperature still around 70 degrees I’ve had just as much success fishing jigs(3in doa paddle tails ). The trout bite has been a go to when looking for a good meal to take home for the grill.

I have also been finding some really good mangrove snapper’s deep in the back country. I’ve been concentrating on the lower incoming tides,  fishing the deeper shorelines.  One really good trick is make sure you chum with some live bait as your fishing. This will draw out some of the bigger snappers as they tend to hide deep in the cover. I use the exact same rig for snappers as I do for snook. This is a 3 foot piece of fluorocarbon leader(30lb) attach to a 1/0 J-hook . Keep it simple and easy and you’ll have a great time on the water. Look for this weeks fishing to improve every day into the weekend . See you in the water.!!!!

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

Bright red morning sunrises are always a great way to get excited for a day on the water.  Snook around the Naples and Marco island backcountry have been harder to catch as the gulf waters have dropped into the low 60s. Every winter when our Waters temps drop & we have other species of fish that take priority (redfish /sea trout/sheep head / mackerel/pompano/black drum).  I like to target these winter fish with artificial jigs . A go to winter bait is a 3/8oz tube jig light brown in color tipped with a small piece of shrimp . Not frozen shrimp but live shrimp cut into small fingernail pieces.

This time of year can also bring in king mackerel & Bonito . If you happen to see tons of birds diving just off our beaches make sure you go check it out and you could be in a bunch of drag screaming action.  Look for the good winter fishing to continue as the cold fronts have been showing up every week now . C u y’all on the water !!!!!

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

We are starting to feel some good cold fronts rolling into the Naples and Marco island areas .  Weather has been just perfect with highs averaging in the upper 70s  and lows in the 50s at night . These cooler night temperatures have kept the gulf temps rt around the upper 60s to the low 70s. As you can see in the pictures, I’m still finding some really good Snook but not seeing the big numbers like I see in the spring and summer.  

I am still cast netting live pilchards, that seem to be a crowd pleaser inshore and in the backcountry .  On the side of the fishery , these cooler temps are prime time fishing for sea trout.   These fish will start to stack up in the deeper cuts in between the outer islands . Look for good rolling current, and a slight drop off in the bottom and you should find action.

Fishing for trout is really easy once you find one your usually find a pile of them .  Make sure to fish slow as they will be tight to the bottom . With this said a 3/8 ounce jig head with a DOA paddle tail (3in)or gulp shrimp will most definitely get that Rod bent . I see in the forecast another cold front doing this weekend so make sure to get out this week is that high pressure will get these chew N !!!!! See yah on the water.

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