The high water with slow moving tides and increasing winds made for some challenging fishing this past week in and around Estero Bay. The winds made the pass and nearshore waters fishing non existing so anglers were forced to fish the backbay. Chumming around the oyster bars and mangrove islands produced some redfish using shrimp tipped jig heads and shrimp under floats. Due to the tough conditions patience was the key to catching these spot tails. Wait 15-20 minutes per location before relocating and sometimes only moving 25-30 feet down the island produced a bite. There is an abundance of mangrove snapper willing to take these shrimp offerings and many were large enough for table fare. If anglers are able to get whitebait or threads the snook are hanging around the floating docks and are very hungry. Free lining them in swift moving water is the key. Those doing this will also pick up some very large jacks.