Classic Gulf Coast Hotspots Springing Back After Wicked Hurricanes

Here’s a look at the fishing impacts, and recoveries, along the Gulf Coast following two recent major storms.

Lee County: Hurricane Ian, Cat. 4, Sept. 28, 2022

Captain Justin Stuller and I are having a ball casting soft-plastic jigs to gag grouper on the rocky flats just off a channel in Pine Island Sound. Flat water, gentle tide, slight overcast, perfect conditions.

But Captain Stuller tells me this same place just a little while in the past, say, September 28 of 2022, would not have been a good place to be at all. Here in Southwest Florida near Fort Myers, Hurricane Ian came ashore with 150 mph winds and a massive storm surge. More than 100 persons perished in the region, and damage to homes, buildings, roads and more ran into the tens of billions of dollars. Today the area is getting back to a more normal state, and for anglers in particular, things are getting very good.

Betsy Clayton, communications director for Lee County Government, tells us, “We have abundant beaches open. Lover’s Key State Park is open, and Lee County Parks & Recreation beaches are open. Sanibel City beaches are open. Lynn Hall and Bowditch Point Park are open.”

“The Board of County Commissioners is committed to rebuilding the Fort Myers Beach Pier,” said Clayton. “FEMA greenlighted reimbursement for the replacement of the pier. The project is anticipated to take about four years. The Matlacha Park fishing pier was heavily damaged. The Lee Board of Commissioners recently approved a contract to fix it.”

Captain Justin Stuller (Estero River Outfitters), a lifelong resident says, “Things like docks, bridges, the mangroves—the fish habitat—got slammed. A lot of sand was moved which covered things up, but in return, this also exposed things we didn’t know were there before. At this point, a year and half after the storm, the fishing is better than it has ever been.”

Captain Cory McGuire (Falling Tide Charters) guides anglers out of Pine Island, offering diverse trips including spring tarpon and mixed-bag offshore trips for snapper, kingfish, cobia and grouper. “Immediately after the storm, the fish were shifted some,” McGuire recalled. “We caught more mutton snapper than before the storm. And the mutton bite has dropped off some, but it’s still better than before the storm. Some wrecks got torn apart, but the ledges are still in place for the most part. Some ledges got covered up in sand but others got uncovered.”

“I’ve done several red snapper trips in 160 to 180 feet of water and the spots there are still good. There’s not a huge difference between this fishing now and before the storm. We have a lot of places in 40 to 80 feet of water we can fish for a wide range of reef species—grouper, yellowtail snapper, mangrove snapper, mutton snapper.”

When asked how marinas in the Fort Myers area dealt with the storm and its damage, McGuire says, “The marina I keep my boat at was rebuilt after a previous storm and it was rebuilt to the new codes, so it did well. As soon as the power was restored, my marina was open. The new building codes helped marinas survive.”

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One of the areas hit especially hard by Hurricane Ian was the very popular Cayo Costa State Park, a nine-mile long uninhabited island which lies four miles from Pine Island.

At present, the park’s docks, shop compound, visitor cabins and ranger residences have yet to be rebuilt. The ferry service to the island has been discontinued. However, effective October 25, 2023 the Cayo Costa Park beach on the Gulf of Mexico side of the island was open for visitors who have vessels to access the island.

Fort Myers and greater Lee County anglers say fishing has been very good since the storm, but in many cases different. For one thing, the lush and protective mangroves which line the shoreline of many bays and inshore regions got torn up. The mangroves, like the people of the area, are survivors, and they will come back.

Stuller tells us, “The fish here are healthy. They might not be in the same places as they were before the storm, but they’re back and they’re chewing. The beaches are loaded with snook and pompano. We’ve been catching some of the biggest sheepshead we’ve ever caught. The trout bite is pretty great, and there’s redfish on pretty much every mangrove corner we come across.”

Most of the area’s rivers and streams have recovered nicely, and this area has some truly gorgeous freshwater and brackish flows for kayak anglers to enjoy. The Estero River in particular offers anglers some great fishing. Live shiner fishing can produce multiple species of fish on the Estero, and it’s not uncommon to catch a snook and then a bass on successive casts.—Ed Mashburn

Mexico Beach: Hurricane Michael, Cat. 5, Oct. 10, 2018

Hurricane Michael came ashore at Mexico Beach in 2018. This Category 5 storm brought winds of 160 mph and a 17 ½-foot storm surge. The damage was estimated to be over $25 billion. The locals took it as a challenge to rebuild the town as quickly as possible. This spirit is illustrated by the Ace Hardware that locals depended on for all sorts of supplies. The hurricane destroyed the main store, but left the warehouse behind it intact. This immediately became the working Ace Hardware that continually supplied the town with much needed building material.

What best illustrates Mexico Beach’s values is that one of the first events that was held soon after the hurricane was one of the town’s annual fishing tournaments. The Gollywhopper, held since 2012, is one of two traditional fishing tournaments held each year. This tournament has categories for numerous fish species. The second and older tournament is the Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association (MBARA) Kingfish Tournament. These tournaments bring together the entire community to celebrate sportfishing, one of the main reasons for the town’s existence.

Captain Kevin Lanier, a local charter captain, thinks it’s one of the best places to charter fish out of. “It’s a family vacation spot that has incredible fishing,” he says. “The canal in Mexico Beach gives boats direct access to the Gulf.” This manmade canal was completed in 1955 and has been a major factor in establishing Mexico Beach as a fishing destination.

Mexico Beach has been described as “having everything you need and nothing you don’t.” I agree with this description.

When looking for a place to vacation, I must admit I am biased toward fishing. I look for good boat ramps, tackle stores and access to good fishing. Mexico Beach has all of this and more.

The MBARA has been building reefs for over 25 years. Captain Lanier attributes the exceptional fishing to these reefs. “There are 282 reefs in the immediate area and 500 to 600 within 20 miles of here,” he says. Fortunately, with the exception of some of the shallow-water reefs that were moved, most of the large reefs were unaffected by the hurricane.

Mexico Beach is well-positioned to take advantage of both inshore and offshore fishing. St. Joe Bay, which is adjacent to Mexico Beach, has some of the clearest water in the state. In the spring and summer the bay is one of the best places to catch supersized speckled trout. In addition, pompano, redfish, Spanish mackerel, tripletail and tarpon cruise the bay. It’s also one of the premier scalloping locations in Florida.

Offshore, the depth increases dramatically close to shore and so does the fishing. Kingfish typically make a run each year and are frequently caught just off the beach. The outer buoy line that marks the St. Joe ship channel is a dependable place to catch kings, Spanish mackerel, mahi, cobia, sheepshead and tripletail. This outer channel is actually closer to Mexico Beach than it is Port Saint Joe.

The almost infinite number of reefs available are home to grouper, snapper, amberjack and cobia. During the winter, white marlin and yellowfin tuna can be found around the “Wings,” 45 miles off the beach. The “Pipeline” is in 400-foot depths and runs from Mobile Bay to Tampa Bay. This pipe, which transports natural gas, is approximately 55 miles offshore and according to Captain Lanier, a variety of grouper, sailfish and even tilefish, are caught along the structure.

The beaches here are unusually white. The sand is made up of uniform particles of quartz that originated in the Appalachian Mountains millions of years ago. The surf is often calm because the wind and current are blocked by St. Joseph Peninsula and Cape San Blas to the south. Walkways to the beach constructed over Highway 98 provide public access and protect the sand dunes and native vegetation. In addition, the city has limited development, safeguarded over a mile of beachfront for the public and fostered the growth of locally owned businesses.

The fishing that has attracted so many visitors is still here.—Bill Greer

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• This article was featured in the February 2024 issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Subscribe here