Mid Winter Fishing Report

The fall turnaround is fully underway in Naples, FL, and we’ve been taking advantage of everything this season brings to our fishery. For starters, the bait situation is as good as it gets. There are plenty of quality pilchards around, and blacking out the livewell in one toss lets us chum everywhere we fish. The best part of fall is the variety it brings to every part of our fishery. Inshore, nearshore, and offshore, you never know what’s going to show up, and that keeps up all the way into winter as the water slowly cools. Inshore: The bite has been incredible, with some of the best redfishing we’ll see all year. Plenty of snook and jacks are chewing inside too, so every inshore trip has had steady action. Nearshore: This has been great too, especially for sportfishing. Barracuda, goliath grouper, bull sharks, big jack crevalle, and cobia have kept our hands full. Offshore: There’s been a good snapper bite, along with the other usual suspects. What’s next: As the stiff northeast winds keep cooling things down, we’ll see a lot more cobia move through our region, from nearshore out to the offshore wrecks. They’re our prime fall target because they’re great for sight fishing and excellent on the table. We’re also expecting nearshore bonita and kingfish to show up soon. Fishing is already great, and there’s even more to look forward to. Trips are filling up for Thanksgiving week and the winter season, so reach out to any of us with questions about booking. We look forward to fishing with all of you this season!

Late spring fishing here in Naples has been going exactly how it should. We’ve been focused on the Permit and Tarpon, but there have been some nice bonuses mixed in as well. Tarpon fishing has been steady with the migration fully underway. We are intercepting these fish as they push through the area and have been jumping and grabbing some quality Tarpon. After spending the mornings on the Tarpon, we’ll typically switch gears and target Permit for the afternoon. Pairing these two species in the same day makes for one of the best sport fishing experiences our fishery has to offer. We are sight fishing the Permit offshore with live crabs, and the action has been solid when conditions line up. While these fish are our main focus right now, there has also been some great bottom fishing taking place offshore. The grouper bite has been strong on the few trips we’ve targeted them, and we’ve also been chumming up mangrove and yellowtail snapper nicely offshore. Bringing these fish right to the surface and sight fishing them makes for a fun change of pace — along with some incredible table fare for those looking to bring home fresh fish to eat. This pattern should continue as we transition into summertime fishing. The rest of May is filling up quickly, and prime dates are going fast. Please reach out to any of us with questions about a potential charter. Happy fishing!

March is the true transition from winter into spring, and with it our fishery begins to come alive. What makes this time of year so special is the sheer range of species you can encounter. As water temperatures rise, opportunities expand both inshore and offshore, and the next few weeks are where things really start to happen. Our inshore fishery will change dramatically by the end of this week. With a steady warming trend, we’ll shift from shrimp to live pilchards, opening the door to some of the best backcountry fishing of the year. Snook, Redfish, and juvenile Tarpon become increasingly active as they push back into the shallows after winter, making for exciting, visual fishing in calm conditions. Offshore has already been stellar and is only getting better. Hundreds of Permit have shown up early this season, along with plenty of barracudas and amberjacks to pull on. We’ve been feeding the AJs flies and artificials, creating some epic topwater eats. Cobia should begin to show soon, another strong kingfish run is upon us, and the snapper bite has been phenomenal. This time of year we can chum them up near the surface—an added bonus when we’re already surrounded by action and they make for incredible table fare. As we move into April, all eyes turn toward the arrival of the silver king. Tarpon and Permit will be our primary targets throughout the spring and into early summer. March is already nearly full and April isn’t far behind. We’re looking forward to an epic spring with our clients—feel free to reach out with any questions about upcoming trips. Happy fishing