Report: Well the heat and afternoon showers are finally here and that is making the fishing a little more predictable. The summer patterns in freshwater are Bass relating more to the deeper water and shady areas where cooler more oxygenated water is. Okay on to the report
Saltwater: Inshore and backcountry areas fish are noticing the warmer water and are starting to move out to deeper ledges off of the flats into deeper pockets in canal and backcountry areas. The Trout and Snook have shown up on the flats in potholes on the flats with the best bites occurring when the tide is incoming. We are still seeing Trout above the slot range and are best caught on jig heads tip with a soft plastic. Our clients and our guides have had the best luck using soft plastics on a 1/8 to a ¼ ounce jig head. Trout are responding well to these baits in mostly natural colors. Start with the lightest weight jig head and then work up to a heavier one if needed - especially if you have lots of wind. Our Redfish bite is taking off with better sized fish. The Redfish are found mostly on the cuts and troughs just off the flats on outgoing tides and they are feeding up on the flats during the incoming tides but this month we are seeing them on deeper flats and those relating to deeper water. Our clients have also caught Redfish well on Texas rigged soft plastics with the hook tip buried which produces a weed-less approach.
The Snook bite has been very good. We are seeing them on the beaches near structure and shorelines and in deeper channels and mangrove shorelines with sandy bottoms. The Snook have been reacting great to top-water baits now as long as you are fishing moving water. The best catches falling to weightless and weed-less rigs. Snook have a hard time tolerating cold water temps and have found stable water temps in deeper canals and back country areas. Now that the weather has warmed up we see them out on the flats and in potholes a little more. Our clients have been blessed with large boils of jacks in the canal systems and Bluefish out on some of our flats in the Pine Island and Matlacha waters. Tarpon are here and biting! We are seeing many pods rolling in the canal systems and out in the channels and bridges. Our clients are having the time of their lives fighting these bruisers from the kayak. Summer is here and with the higher temperatures we will be seeing Tarpon daisy chaining along our beaches and in the passes.
Freshwater: Largemouth Bass are finished up with the spawning cycle now. If you must take a Largemouth Bass home for the table take only the 2 to 3 pound fish. Not only are they tastier and less gamey in flavor, but this practice will provide bigger and more trophy sized fish in your waters year after year. With the summer heat upon us the bigger bass are in shady cooler waters. We are finding them tight in structure and under many of the mats of vegetation that have grown this past month. Many bass anglers that love flipping and pitching are having a great time and bigger catches. As far as the Cape Coral and Fort Myers canal systems we are having wonderful success on spinner baits and jigs. Sunny days or sunny times of the day use silver blades on your spinner baits, cloudy times of the day use gold blades on the spinner baits. That is what we have had the bigger fish biting well on. The Gary Yamamoto Swimming Senko has made a wonderful search bait to find the bass that are in the deeper vegetation. The top water bite has taken off especially in the early morning hours. During the warmest hours 10:00 am to 2:00 pm head for the shade and fish the mats for the bigger fish.
Kayak Charters has seen success for Largemouth Bass this month on crank baits and soft plastics and expect those patterns to work during the next month also. The best colors for May and June will be natural colors like watermelon and pumpkin color combinations if fishing clear water like we have had here in southwest Florida. You can find stained and muddy water on wind-blown points and flats. When faced with color in the water we go with more visible colors like chartreuse, white and black or dark colors. I also like to use lures that will produce a lot of vibration in stained or muddy water as this helps the bass locate the lure easier. Chatter baits and spinner baits fit this niche well.
We are big believers in using scent on our baits. We love using Pro Cure Bait Scents on our spinner bait skirts, jig skirts, soft plastics and on our crank baits. We have fished side by side other anglers not using Pro Cure Baits Scents and have out fished them 3 to 1. You can't beat the natural extracts of real prey and amino acids that are in this stuff. We use the Mullet Scent on our Tarpon baits, The Shrimp on our soft plastics for Reds, and the Inshore Formula has worked well on Snook and Sea Trout. We love this stuff and I am sure you will too. The Trophy Bass Formula has made all the difference in fishing these tough summer patterns on different bodies of water throughout the area. It's very cost effective and lasts a long time on the baits. After a dozen casts we still felt the residue on our baits. Let me tell you the fish love this. You must check them out at www.pro-cure.com
We look forward to bringing you news, tackle techniques and reports for the Cape Coral, Punta Gorda, Fort Myers, Pine Island and Matlacha areas next month. If you have any questions contact me through our website. Please visit www.kayak-charters.com to see our website and how our clients have been doing and the latest testimonials on the services we provide. We are now offering Split Charters that allow our clients to fish a half day freshwater and a half day saltwater in the same day. This gives our clients and out of town clients the best of both worlds and a trip they will not soon forget. We have some of the most affordable rates in the world for what we provide. You will fish with a Professional Angler with over thirty years of experience and a Professional Kayak Fisherman and kayaker with over 18 years of experience. I am a fishing instructor, author and pro staff for some the world's top fishing and kayak companies in the world. Call 239-425-7823 and or e-mail and book your trip today.
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