Trout are catch and release — handle them very carefully

February 14, 2020

Exactly 63 reader emails and quite a few calls pointed out an omission or were confused by last week's spotted seatrout rule change article because "someone" left out an important point. Yes, the new size and harvest limit rules went into effect Feb. 1, 2020, but due to the losses caused by the recent red tide disaster, spotted seatrout still remain catch-and-release only through May 31, 2020. Go to the FWC website for updates, and thank you for the emails.Typically, when you find one trout you've probably found a school and it's easy to catch quite a few if you're quiet as trout are ...

Heads up anglers — new trout regulations are in effect

February 7, 2020

If sea trout fishing is your passion, be aware of the new rules that started the beginning of the month and are long overdue. What it means to Southwest Florida anglers is reduced size and harvest limits which, in the end, will only benefit the overall fishery.Instead of bringing home four trout for dinner, you can now harvest three trout and, the slot size limit has also been changed from 15-20 inches to 15-19 inches.The old harvest rules allowed each recreational angler to harvest one trout over 20 inches as part of his four bag limit.That's now been modified to one trout over 19 ...

If offshore fishing is out of the question, try the river

January 31, 2020

Problem -- You're on a family vacation with limited time. After TSA probings, thigh high snow and 7-hour airport delays, you finally got the crew to Orlando. You booked the trip 35 weeks, 4 days and 17 hours ago while sitting home in North Dakota.After spending a small fortune and some college funds to stand in various lines for hours at Mickey World while eating caviar priced burgers and champagne sodas, you suddenly notice that the bright Florida sunshine has turned everyone's snow white Dakota tan a bright, soon to turn painful, cherry red while starting to wonder if having this many ...

Tarpon can be found in local waters in the winter months

January 24, 2020

The good things are that Southwest Florida cold fronts come and leave quickly and that somewhere around Miami, the Keys and points much further south there are untold numbers of tarpon just starting to make plans for a return to Boca Grande Pass in 16 weeks or so. Time flies, you just don't realize it when you're young.Living here in tarpon central, most old salts know that not all of the tarpon head south for winter vacations, some like the Cape/Fort Myers area and they simply stay and endure the chill the best they can. What determines which are homebodies and which become travelers or ...

Cooler weather is coming — get out and enjoy the warmth while you can

January 17, 2020

Grab your hats, coats and gloves as Frosty is on his way for the weekend, so today may be your last chance to enjoy our after Christmas, late summer-like, still warm waters, mid-80s weather pattern.Forced to work on today, but still need a last minute before bad weather bite? Get tough and get out there tonight and score a monster snook under the Matlacha, Cape Coral or Midpoint bridge.A large live shrimp, hooked on a jighead properly so it stays alive and kicking, cast up current of the Matlacha Bridge and slowly hopped back along the bottom with the tide could put a long-as-your-leg ...

Low water can test your fishing and boating skills

January 10, 2020

Slow moving, low water, negative tide days can test your skills and patience as shallow saltwater fish seem to sometimes disappear. Add long cold nights to the mix and soon temperature sensitive, sub-tropicals like snook downshift into survival mode while other inshore species like seatrout are stimulated to put on the feed bag or spawn, like black drum and sheepshead.Casters need to slow their retrieve, and smaller lures fished on lighter, clearer lines working near bottom, have the edge. Added scents or bits of shrimp enhance the presentation.Low water, negative day tides can also be ...