May is a great month for fishing Southwest Florida. The offshore bite Northwest of Captiva to 9 miles out in 45ft of water has been solid for Mangrove Snapper, Grouper, and Mackerel. Gag grouper are closed for harvest but still provide a fun fight, caught while trolling deep diving lures or on bait. Inshore fishing on the flats is great with an abundance of bait present. Simultaneously, we fish for Tarpon, Trout, and Mackerel with a bonus Snook or Redfish.

Typically, Redfish are not thought of as an offshore fish, but they do gather in large schools, frequently driving bait to the surface where they feed aggressively. In this instance, I was trolling a deep diving lure about 10 miles out for Gag Grouper. I noticed a large school of bait/fish on my bottom machine and moments later this fish struck which was released; we saw far too many dead after a recent red tide to consider keeping it. Notice the pale color, this is common with inshore fish like Snook & Redfish when they are on the beaches or in deeper water; an adaptation to blend into their surroundings..