Fishing with Capt. George Tunison | Warming water will increase chances of catching snook
For the next 10 days or so, predicted warm air temperatures will hopefully push local water temps up into the magic 70s, which will only increase chances of inshore success, especially with larger snook that are just starting to shake off their winter time blues while planning a trip westward soon to a warm and sunny coastal vacation with all their friends.
In the meantime, light lines, smaller lures and slow to very slow retrieves are still called for or camp out on your favorite hotspot and soak baits like shrimp fresh or frozen, pinfish or fresh ladyfish chunks and, yes, a chilly snook will inhale a right smelling tasty bottom bait as well as a keen nosed and seemingly always hungry redfish.
Warming waters will open many doors but slowly close others. For now with the cool water, sheepshead fishing remains good on local structures but for numbers of bigger fish, the nearshore structures are the place to drop a line. Local shepherd Roy Bennet (pictured) recently tended his flock on nearshore numbers catching a dozen fat specimens from 15 inches to 20 inches on frozen shrimp. Belton Johnson, Edison, Paces Place, Helens are just a few nearshore reefs where you might not only score on quality sheepies but a wide selection of snappers, grunts, porgies and pop-up-anywhere-any-time Spanish mackerel. The phosphate docks at Boca Grande are a good second inshore choice while on-foot angler traffic on the Matlacha Bride reports on and off again sheepshead catches.
Roy Bennet with one of his sheepshead catches. PROVIDED
I recently got a second visit to my friend’s top secret, downtown Cape canal and sheepshead honey-hole. Use your electronics to find your own Cape canal structure which holds a variety of fish throughout the year, especially winter sheepshead, while saving fuel and running time. Some of the biggest snook that swim in our area live in the Cape’s canals without ever seeing a lure or bait. I’m talking fish in the 45-inch and beyond class.
Overall inshore sheepshead fishing (and for other species) these last 5 years hasn’t been as productive due, in my opinion, to ongoing water quality issues, which continue to degrade the overall quality of all local marine life, especially in Matlacha Pass and parts of Pine Island Sound where the loss of incredibly important natural seagrasses is frightening. Remember this simple formula: No grass = No fish.
Small ultra-sharp hooks covered with small bits of shrimp, clam, even Fish Bites fished on 20-pound test fluorocarbon leaders will do the trick for sheepies when fished inches away from bridge pilings with just enough weight to keep your line vertical and close to the piling during stronger tidal flow. Check out YouTube for cleaning instructions for these delicious tough skinned fish with human-like teeth.
Right about now tarpon are flooding into the Keys from deeper waters along with several other species, including jumbo sharks and lots of them. Before long they will pass Miami, then the 10,000 Islands, Marco and Fort Myers Beach till they finally arrive here with others continuing north into Tampa Bay and points west. Another group will take the east coast leg where they will go past the Carolinas and up into the Delaware and Chesapeake bays. Other accounts reported encountering them as far north as Nova Scotia. By the end of this month, barring any prolonged cold spells, the local action will start to heat up along with the weather.
With a winter warm up ahead, now’s the last chance to go south and take that trip you’ve always wanted to take into the 10,000 Islands before it becomes heat and bug central. High end lodging, guides and launching facilities starting at Marco Island or cheaper rates further down into Everglades City, Goodland and Chokoloskee.
Spend the money for a good local guide to put you on some world class sport fishing, especially for laid up tarpon in shallow water using lures and flies.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at (239) 579-0461 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.