Suggestions for fishing Naples/ Fort Myers Florida

[mike o]

I am heading down to the Naples/ Fort Myers area in a couple weeks. Taking my kayak and will probably fish Estero Bay. I don't mind driving a bit to other areas if its worth it. Any suggestions about fishing near there will be appreciated.

[J.A. Veil]

After fishing on the Gulf coast a bunch of times, I realized that there are thousands of miles of good looking shorelines and many acres of flats. But without local knowledge of which areas hold fish on which parts of the tidal cycle, you are fishing blind. My advice to you is to look for a guide familiar with the area where you plan to fish and hire them for at least a day. The guide can tell you what lures to use, where to look, etc. If you prefer to strike out on your own after that, you will be better informed.

A few years ago I hired two guides in the Ft Myers area that I found through Internet searches. The first guide did not put much effort into the trip. The second trip got blown out by high winds -- the second guide was a bit difficult to deal with because of his suite of requirements. I am not going to badmouth either of them by name on a public board, but do recommend that you do some homework.

[ComeOnFish]

Around FT. Myer, I fished 3 places on kayaks. I usually do this during conferences (Orlando). To me driving 1.5-2 hours for kayak fishing is nothing compare to driving 2-3.5 hours one way at home.

My other goal is finding a good future vacation spots for me and my wife. So I usually visited resorts and fished a half day.

I googled 'kayak near Fort Myer, FL'. I got the following map. You may call kayak rental place for fishing and launch information.

I used rental kayaks and cheap Wal-Mart rod and reel combo which I gave away after the last fishing. I didn't have many lures. I bought some lures form local tackle stores for small redfish and specks. I usually loose two lures very quickly by unintended large fish (big red). So I usually fished with frozen shrimp and live shrimp.

Since you are driving to FL, I suggest you bring an anchor and a trolling bucket for live bait (shrimp or baitfish). I used cement filled coffee can anchor and a 20' line. I didn't use Hobie. when I hooked a big fish without an anchor, I had to cut the line eventually. because fish immediately went into the mangrove. The drag must be tight near mangrove.

These places aren't flats. no flats fishing here. This means that sometimes it was hard to pee. I couldn't find beach-able area. If you want to stand up in the shallow water near mangrove, check the softness of the bottom first by using the paddle. If the bottom is soft, find a beach-able spots.

Leash you paddle. The wind is usually strong. Don't loose your paddle.



Peace River:
The water is black. But fishing is good. I caught sail catfish, speck, small redfish, large grey trout, and small alligator gar (3-4').



Pine Island:
There are many small islands. I memorized docks and islands when moving. I took photos of land marks, so that I could use the photos when I came back. Without GPS, I had to this because mangrove island look alike. I fished leeway of the island when the wind is strong. I caught ladyfish small redfish. I could see huge redfish under mangrove. There were many dolphins chasing baitfish.
The water depth was 10' about 3-5' under mangrove



I like Captiva/Sanibel Island a lot:
Along the long line of mangrove you can catch anything if you are prepared. This is the area where you don't stringer your catch. There are many sharks, lemon, Bull, Hammer Head sharks. The water depth was 10' about 3-5' under mangrove.
Once you catch some fish, sharks will come and circle around your kayak. The biggest was a 13' bull for me. It was intimidating But fishing was good. Next time I will move at least 200 yards after catching a couple of fish.





Joe

[kanvery]

Wow! You can ask for any better information from an internet forum than that! I think you owe Comeonfish a few beers!

[mike o]

Thanks

You are right I do owe Comeonfish a few beers. Thanks for all the info. I'll let you know how I do.

[mike o]

Comeonfish I did learn something about fishing the mangroves when I fished with a guide 2 years ago. I hooked a huge snook and she wrapped me all around the mangrove roots and the leader broke. The guide then told me to stick my rod down in the water as far as I could so the line goes under the roots. I don't know why he didn't tell me that when I was fighting the fish. Anyway in the last 5 minutes of the day I hooked another huge snook and using that technique I managed to get her out of the mangroves and into the boat.

[moc]

I appreciate the information since I always wanted to kayak fish those area since my parents live in Fort Myers.

[EDGEWATER]

I will be in Ft. Myers fishing from 2/22-2/28. I have been looking for information about the area.

Spoke with John Veil as he has been to the west coast area several times. His input was very helpful. I don't often visit SL when the kayak is hanging from the rafters and may have missed this post. Thanks John for pointing it out.

ComeOnFish - great job on a nicely detailed report.

Mike O - if our trip dates overlap shoot me a pm and maybe we can fish together.

Hoping I can figure it out and look forward to some pullage.

[dsiekman]

I'll be about an hour north of there mid-March and have always thought the Charlotte Harbor area looked interesting. I'm just hoping the weather warms up. From what I hear the fishing around Sarasota has been terrible the last few weeks.