Southwest Florida Fishing Report: Conditions great to reel in snook and tarpon

The heat is on for Southwest Florida anglers prospecting the waters both shallow and deep. Great water quality, lighter winds and optimum tides are providing for solid bites on a plethora of exciting piscatorial suspects.

With Gulf water temperatures hovering in the middle to upper-80s, snook and tarpon are keeping inshore shallow water enthusiasts on their toes. Reveling in the good tides and bounty of forage, schools of the popular gamefish are staged up along the beaches, inside area passes and scattered throughout all of the region’s middle bay systems.

Closed to harvest from May 1-Aug. 31, snook lend themselves to be excellent targets for anglers of all skill sets and approach techniques. Equally as quick to snap up or refuse a well-placed offering, many baits are effectively employed here in the region to catch snook.

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Anglers using artificial lures, flies and jigs will find that proper and a near-perfect presentation is paramount when trying to fool the savvy snook. The cast, the natural motion of the offering and proper rigging will be the difference between being winked at or hooking up to a great snook catch.

Casting live bait to foraging snook has a greater degree of success only if proper techniques are also employed. Hooks should be stout, and size proportionate to the chosen bait, casts should lead the target or land within the determined strike zone rather than be haphazardly broadcast.

Remember anglers, whether employing live or artificial bait offerings for snook, a stealth approach will improve catching success. Minimizing deck/engine noise, using fluorocarbon leader material, keeping a low profile when fishing from land, and employing patience will make for great snook outings.

Tarpon are also challenging the skills and wills of area anglers with light to moderate east winds providing ideal conditions for those searching for the silver king. Early departures in the cloak of darkness and arriving on the tarpon grounds as the sun is beginning to rise is not only a glorious way to begin the day but necessary in hooking up to the revered gamefish.

Rolling fish, daisy-chaining schools and single specimens laid up stationary along mangrove shorelines have been fooled by well-placed baitfish fly imitations, large soft plastic jerkbaits and live crabs rigged under a hi-visibility cork during the reporting period.

Out beyond the horizon, improved conditions have allowed offshore anglers to experience relatively smooth commutes to fertile grouper grounds out beyond 35 nautical miles. Natural hard bottom areas have been producing limits of the popular red grouper along with an array of colorful reef fish species.

Well beyond the traditional grouper arena, the effort will begin to ramp up with American red snapper season commencing. Open to harvest for the federally permitted charter for hire CFH sector from June 1 -Aug. 19, anglers will be allowed to retain a two fish limit per day. Measured length overall with a 20-inch minimum, look for consistent catch of American red snapper in water depths greater than 160 feet.

Recreational anglers wishing to reel in and retain a red snapper will have to wait for their opening day on June 17 and closing on July 31. Daily bag and size limits aboard a true recreational vessel mirror those of the charter for hire CFH effort.

The overall forecast looks favorable for the upcoming week with short periods of increased wind from the east/southeast and the occasional afternoon rainstorm.  However, forecasts are always subject to change and should be monitored closely prior to and during the day of departure.

Offshore: “The Gulf conditions have been a mixed bag of our recent charters”, said Capt. Brandon Lawson. “Light winds one day are replaced with moderate ones the next, but the fish are biting good for us.”

At the helm of his Port O Call Marina docked Solo Lobo, Lawson has consistently had his sights set on select areas of natural hard bottom and artificial reefs in the 35- to 45-mile range. Once in that range, Lawson is treating his anglers to excellent catching of reef fish and sportfish.

Prospecting over natural hardbottom, Lawson’s anglers are landing limits of red grouper using live pinfish/herring and large chunks of squid. Small profile baits free-lined and dropped to depth are being snapped up by yellowtail, vermillion, lane and mangrove snapper for his crews.

Artificial fish havens in that range are offering the Solo Lobo crews opportunities at tangling with greater amberjack, shark and the ever-present goliath grouper. Requiring plenty of elbow grease and tackle to land, all of Lawson’s wreck catches are quickly photographed and released to thrill another day.

Naples/Estero Bay: Aboard my Port O Call Marina based guide boat the Grand Slam, late May and early June fishing has been action-packed and family-friendly. Mixing up our adventures between the nearshore and inshore has kept the rods bent and interest level of everyone on board at a high level.

Visiting the nearshore wrecks early in the fishing day has offered my anglers steady hookups of Spanish mackerel, barracuda, and a scattering of feisty brown sandbar sharks. Trolling and casting small 2-3-inch Clark spoons has been effective for mackerel while large wire-rigged threadfin herring, ladyfish and blue runners fooled the barracuda and shark.

Closer to shore and in the shallows, casting 2-4 inch scaled sardines around rock jetties, residential docks and current swept points within the middle bays south of Naples Bay was fruitful with snook, mangrove snapper and jack crevalle making their way over the rail.

Ten Thousand Islands: “Fly fishing for snook and tarpon has been good to great here in the upper Ten Thousand Islands”, said Goodland-based guide Capt. Paul Nocifora. “Early departures have been paramount in order to beat the heat and capture the early day-active bite.”

Placid mornings have found Nocifora and his casters working outside Gulf facing shorelines, bights and beach troughs for tarpon. Targeting rolling and circling schools of the silver king, Nocifora is having great success in hooking up. Large chunky baitfish flies in black/purple and white/olive color combinations attached to longer than normal tapered leaders have been best during the first few hours of daylight.

By mid-morning, Nocifora has been concentrating on deeper mangrove shorelines possessing current and areas of downed deadwood. Casting a white-colored Lightbulb pattern, snook, redfish and large jack crevalle are making it boat side for Nocifora.

If you have a report to share email captwill@naplessportfishing.com.

Anglers, email your photos to news@naplesnews.com and we will compile your images into an online gallery that’s featured each Thursday morning at www.naplesnews.com. Do not submit photos of fish caught illegally.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Fishing conditions in Southwest Florida for snook, tarpon are optimal