Sarasota to Bonita Beach
Includes Siesta Key, Venice, Englewood, Boca Grande, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Pine Island, Cape Coral, Captiva, Sanibel and Fort Myers.

March 12-14

Offshore

The weather attempted to straighten out but the wind still held up offshore activity. There were trippers that made it to the close marks and found loads of whiting, snapper, big sheepshead, grunts and short grouper. There are Spanish mackerel and sharks around (and the odd cobia) but things remain slow with Gulf water temps in the low 60s.

Sarasota-Englewood

The bite picked up with numbers of legal trout, big sheepshead in the canals and on the docks, rat reds and the occasional slot fish, as well as some tough guy juvenile snook. The water temps reached the high sixties in the protected dark water areas by midafternoon. The bite coincided with the warming of the water. The trout bite was the best game in town with scads of slot fish; big sheepshead ran a close second.

Port Charlotte

The big bay remained a tad rough with gusty winds challenging boaters. There were however good bites reported in the Pecan and Myakka rivers and Alligator Creek. The bite was fair to good on the leeward shores and in the lagoon off Burnt Store and in Bull and Turtle bays. Reds, gator trout and release snook ate flies, scented plastics and shrimp in Bull and Turtle bays, where sight-fishers poled and cast to sunning fish. The trout action was red hot at times on the open flats in 3 to6 feet of water if you could control your drift.

Ft. Myers

We found good mixed bag bites in Estero Bay this week but you had to find warmer water and keep out of the wind. There were dark-water areas that warmed to the mid-60s, and that was the ticket for a sheepshead, snapper, redfish or snook. We debarbed our hooks and fished tight to the bottom. There was a mad trout bite in 3 to 4 feet of water throughout much of the bay. My guys and a number of other crews found a few upperslot reds all hungry for shrimp and Gulps.

Pine Island and Matlacha both warmed up a bit and the trout bites were roaring. There were reports of pompano and scads of whiting on the Toll Booth Drift and on the flats east of Redfish Pass. The Ding continued to be the good place to stay out of the wind and find a redfish bite. There are plenty of big sheepshead on the causeway pilings and on the docks of the Sanibel canals. There were reports of oversize reds being taken in the passes but it wasn’t a good place to drift in a smallish skiff; better wait for the winds to subside guys.

Captain’s Corner

Although the bite is picking up, one must remember that fish don’t respond well to radical changes in weather, water temperature and other conditions. You may find yourself scouting your favorite spots early on and find little or no fish activity. It’s a good idea to start in the deeper water areas after a very chilly night and allow several hours for our finny friends to wake up and adjust to conditions. Dark water pockets and calm lagoons will warm-up fastest, as will the creeks and canals that maintain more heat over night. Patterns should be in tune with the conditions; slow, deep patterns will usually work best. If you’re catching shorts in a creek or canal, be patient and work the spot a little longer than usual, you might be rewarded with a high- quality catch.

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