| I am Captain Sean A Davis with Fish Warrior Charters | | | | beginning as early as April through the end of June. |
| and I want to give you, the reader some basic | | | | These beautiful game fish can be found cruising up the |
| information and insight into the spectacular fishing | | | | coast of Florida. It is an awesome sight to see schools |
| opportunities available here in Southwest Florida. | | | | of a hundred or more fishing rolling on the surface on |
| The area that is Southwest Florida begins at its | | | | there way to Boca Grande and points north. For these |
| northern most point in Boca Grande runs south through | | | | fish I use heavy spinning or conventional reels without |
| Pine Island Sound, Captiva, Sanibel and Fort Myers | | | | the rods. My preferred bait is live Jumbo Threadfin |
| Beach to Naples and ends its southern most point in | | | | Herring fished with a 6/0 circle hook. By pitching baits |
| the Ten Thousand Islands. The fishing opportunities | | | | at rolling schools, hookups can come easy at times, but |
| discussed in this article are practical for most of this | | | | landing these spectacular fish is a whole other issue. |
| area. Although there are many opportunities for off | | | | The hookup to landing ratio of these Silver Kings in the |
| shore adventures, I am focusing on near shore and | | | | 80lb or greater range is probably 7 to 1, but the show |
| backcountry fishing scenes. | | | | they put on when hooked will be burned in your |
| Catching fish in Southwest Florida begins with catching | | | | memory forever. Tarpon fishing in Southwest Florida |
| bait. There are many species of baitfish available | | | | should be in everyone's "To Do list" once in their lives. |
| including scaled sardines, thread fin herring and pin fish | | | | If I had to pick my favorite game fish of flats fishing it |
| just to name a few. These baits are usually caught | | | | would be Snook. There is no other fish that I like to fish |
| with a cast net around area beaches, bridges or grass | | | | for more than these savvy hard pulling line-siders. The |
| flats. If you are not proficient with a cast net, shrimp | | | | best months for Snook fishing are April through nearly |
| can be purchased from your local bait shop or marina. | | | | November. During the summer months, Snook can |
| Shrimp can be great bait at times, but cast netting your | | | | found along the Beautiful beaches of Southwest |
| own live bait will be much more beneficial. | | | | Florida. Live bait is the key to catching these awesome |
| As far as the fishing goes, there are many types of | | | | game fish. Small Snook can be easily caught by |
| fish available in Southwest Florida. Snook, Redfish. | | | | almost anyone, but it is the giant Snook that haunt my |
| Speckled trout, Tarpon, Mangrove Snapper, | | | | dreams at night. I consider a big Snook at the small |
| Sheephead and Permit are several species that are | | | | end to be 34" or 11 lbs going to 40" and over 20 lbs. |
| targeted in the pristine waters of Southwest Florida. | | | | These fish will test your patience, tackle and angling |
| The tactics to catch these fish vary depending on the | | | | skills. |
| seasons, tidal flow and weather. Trout are a great fish | | | | As you can see there are many angling opportunities |
| to target for beginner fishermen. With Florida's vast | | | | her in the Southwest Florida area. All you need to do is |
| grass flats and passes, hooking into trout can be a | | | | come to Florida and witness it for yourself. Please |
| good bet all year long. The grass flats around Sanibel | | | | remember, there are many regulations for keeping fish, |
| and Captiva can be very productive. | | | | so be sure to check local laws concerning seasons, |
| Redfish is another species caught regularly most of | | | | sizes and bag limits. One of the best ways to learn |
| the year. They are not as subject to water | | | | first hand about tactics used to catch fish in Florida is |
| temperatures as some of the other species. To catch | | | | to hire an experienced fishing guide. I have been guiding |
| Reds, you want to beat up the bushes. Fishing | | | | for years and would love to share some of my |
| mangrove island shorelines at high tide is a highly | | | | knowledge with you. Do not let life pass you by |
| effective way to catch these bruisers. Mangroves are | | | | without fishing the flats and near shore coastal waters |
| found mostly in the Southwest Florida area. | | | | of Southwest Florida. Book your Fishing adventure |
| Tarpon or "Silver King", as they are sometimes called, | | | | today!!! |
| reign supreme in late spring and early summer | | | | |