Fishing with Capt. George Tunison | Rain showers can prompt some good fishing
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Having trouble finding flats fish in your favorite backwater hot spots? Go back just after a shower which cools and oxygenates the water getting fish moving again and bringing them out from their hiding spots far back and under cover where you can't present a lure or bait. If that doesn't produce, customers then try relocating closer to the Gulf.
Moving, oxygenated water will always be cooler and typically more productive. Of course, consult your tide chart before planning any trip to find when the tide is moving making your chances of success much greater. Right now some of the biggest snook of the year are found in our passes on an outgoing tide and always a good choice day or night when seeking a trophy.
Try poking around the flats, oyster bars and docks along the Intracostal Waterway, behind the barrier islands, in and around the passes and, of course, out in front on the beach close to the pass.
Another tactic is to start your trip just south of Useppa Island moving down to Captiva Rocks with lots of areas, flats, islands, cuts and channels to probe for shallow redfish, trout, tarpon and snook on very early morning trips. If you're very experienced, get out there at night. After picking a night with a good moving tide, I like flats fishing from around 2 in the morning till about an hour after sun-up. The night is cool, the water has cooled off and the fish are typically very active. Actually due to bio-luminescence, you can often see fish moving through the water around you which is really neat.
Casting and slowly retrieving big top-water plugs produces big night bites and keeps you out of the snags. Night fishing presents its own many problems besides getting constantly hung up using sub-surface lures. Keep things well organized and to a minimum on your boat's deck. Put away the six rods you normally have on deck. Always wear shoes and lite weight safety glasses, especially when throwing lures even if you're fishing solo. Fish very quietly and use flashlights or other lighting devices sparingly as they often spook fish and wreck your night vision for quite a long time.
One tip when using top-waters, especially at night. In the quiet of the night all your senses are on high alert, especially due to your lack of eyesight. When you hear the explosion or strike, rather than instantly trying for a hook set force yourself to pause – ever so slightly – till you can actually feel the weight of the fish. This produces many more solid hook-ups rather than missed opportunities.
As the sun comes up and the flats fishing slows, I often move over to the Useppa and Cabbage Key area docks and methodically probe them piling by piling by skip-casting soft plastics. Using anything less than 40 to 50-pound fluorocarbon leader material will be cause for an instant break-off by serious-sized snook which live there.
Serious dock specialists looking for that lifetime snook up their chances by going much heavier with 80 to 100-pound leaders as the norm in and around big structure with current, especially when using live baits. Floating a big pinfish, medium-sized mullet or ladyfish under a float at night or on very early mornings, around and under docks can produce a whopper. If this is your game, start out by upsizing your tackle, line and leader or be prepared to always lose the battle. Fighting a 25-inch snook is always a treat. Fighting a 25-pound snook around docks is a war and not a place for wimpy tackle.
Tarpon are still catchable in the passes but many have moved into Charlotte Harbor to chase baitfish. Towing one or two live fish under floats off the transom while casting soft plastics ahead is a solid plan for success.
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.