A variety of species this week in Southwest Florida

This past week the fishing in Southwest Florida experienced up and downs. The week started windy then after a late season cool front the weather settled down by weeks end. The Snook bite was slower than what you would expect for the middle of April We caught fish, but just one or two here and there, no good steady bites. The later part of the week we were on really slow tides coupled with cooler than average temperatures making snook fishing even more difficult. With that said we did manage one beauty of a fish measuring thirty-four inches caught from Matlacha Pass and others up to twenty-seven inches caught from Matlacha Pass, northern Pine island Sound and Boca Grande Pass. We also averaged one or two redfish a day measuring twenty-two to twenty-five inches that were caught while snook fishing. The best action of the week came from the deeper grassflats that surround Charlotte Harbor. There has been a huge influx of baitfish over the week and all kinds of hungry predators are there to feast. In water depths from six to nine feet we caught large spanish mackerel, sea trout, bluefish, cobia and sharks. A couple days we had kids on board and they had a blast, all these fish fight hard and you could not beat the action for the guys. One good thing with our fishing right now is if one species of fish is not cooperating we have a ton of other options. I'm hoping this week the snook fishing will get back on track and maybe the wind will finally lay down and we can begin the hunt for tarpon. Have a safe week and if you get a chance GO FISHING. Captain Bill Russell