Sports/Activites

BACKWATER: Snook season reopens February 1. Most snook will be seeking warmer water in feeder creeks. However, docks with roofs will provide the best cover for smaller populations of undersized snook. Look for docks, next to deeper water, especially the ones that have their waters floodlit at night. Jack crevalle, mangrove snapper and sheepshead also populate these same docks. Live, tail-hooked shrimp is a reliable producer for snook when cast under the docks. For sheepshead, use a #2 or #4 short shank sharp hook, covered with a small piece of shrimp to fool these nibblers. In case you run out of shrimp, oysters make a great second choice. Shuck a supply off an oyster bar, a seawall or a dock piling. The only down side of fishing with oysters is that they are easily stolen off your hook by the sheepshead. The use of braided or superlines, without the stretch of monofilament line, are best to detect the notoriously light bites of this species.

NEARSHORE: Schools of Silver trout can be found in 15-20 feet of water along the Gulf side of Marco and Kice Islands. What these cousins of spotted seatrout lack in size, they make up in numbers. Oftentimes, diving gulls are a clue to the presence of trout flushing glass minnows up towards the surface. Cast 1/3-1/2 oz chrome Crippled Herring jigs to the birds and bottom-bounce them back to the boat. By staying with the diving birds, a fish can be caught on almost every cast.

OFFSHORE: The Five Mile reefs, of Naples and Marco Island, hold good populations of sheepshead in the 5-7 lb. range. They are great eating and strong fighters. However, this is their spawning time so keep enough just for a meal or two. On these same structures you will also be visited by delicious eating triggerfish and the sharp-toothed bluefish. Out to about 20 miles, look for gag grouper and mangrove snapper on the artificial reefs and over limestone bottom stretching from North Naples to beyond Marco Island. To locate the grouper, troll with deep diving plugs or slow-drift a large, live tail-hooked shrimp near bottom. Toss out a marker as soon as you get a hard strike. If that strike results in a gag grouper, anchor upcurrent to the marker and bottom-fish live shrimp or pinfish just upcurrent to that marker. Be prepared for a strong strike. Heavier tackle is a must to prevent being "rocked" by the grouper as it dives for hard, sharp cover. Beyond 20 miles, red grouper will be the more prominent grouper species with lane snapper mixing in with the mangrove snapper. Bluefish and porgies will also be part of the mix.

TIP OF THE MONTH: Each month, I like to pass along an innovative fish-catching tip that has consistently produced extraordinary results for me as a fishing guide. This months offshore water temperature is the coldest of the year. This means the colder the water, the slower the presentation. A deadly presentation, that amazingly works equally well in cold or warm water, is as follows: At anchor, vertically fish a Crippled Herring jig off the boatπs stern, next to the outboard or inboard motor. Use a size heavy enough to reach bottom without it being easily swept away in the current. This lure will be in the direct path of the water current which in turn gives the best movement to the lure. Gold, chrome and pearl white are three of the top finishes in the Gulf of Mexico and other waters around the world. Scent is an important ingredient in cold water. Add a 2-inch piece of the thick portion of a squidπs tentacle or a fingernail-piece of shrimp to the jigs hook. Drop the lure to the bottom then raise it a few inches off bottom. Hereπs the other important part to this presentation. Even though this is a jig, you do not move it like a jig. Instead, you fish it like a live baitfish! Basically, you drop it near bottom and do nothing but hold on. The combination of scent added to a baitfish-imitating jig, slowly flashing in the current, oftentimes will trigger a savage strike from the largest fish in that particular school of fish. Why? Because it represents an easy meal. Most large "bottomfish" usually will not expend unnecessary energy chasing down a meal, especially when they become more lethargic in very cold, or very warm, water.

That's it for this month. I look forward to visiting with you again in next month's issue. In the meantime, be safe on the water and respect the Gulf's fragile resource. Captain Pete

Always feel free to contact us for a fishing report, at Capt. Pete's across from Tin City, east of the Gordon River. (239) 643-4466.