Posted by Captain Bill Curtis on Thursday, April 4, 2013 Under: Fort Myers
The weather continues to warm as does the water temperature bringing in the hordes of baitfish and all the predators that follow them. This week we’ve seen the sheepshead bite continue to be steady yielding some filets for most of my customers who want them. Bait has been spotty but I’ve been netting some for most every charter including huge threadfin herring for one afternoon trip. I have also taken a few of our trips out in to the Gulf of Mexico looking for the start of the tarpon migration. The bait schools are moving up the coast and we have been catching trout and Spanish mackerel while looking for the tarpon and sharks. Today we got the first decent shark of the season on the line long enough for the 4 foot or so spinner shark to break the water and throw the hook after peeling some drag off the 6/0 Penn Senator Combo. When the tide has been higher we have ventured back into Estero Bay to fish the oyster bars and mangrove lined shorelines.
The changing winds are moving the fish daily, but we’ve located some fish for every trip.
The Jack Crevalles have been plentiful giving some drag screaming excitement on every charter.
We also experienced a pretty good redfish bite one day with several fish caught,
but all just under the 18” minimum slot limit.
And today we found a few snook to bite in the middle of the day with a lot of boat traffic about.
That’s going to have to be my update for now, back on the water in the morning!