Fishing report for Fort Myers to Boca Grande

With fuel prices going up I've been spending most of my time fishing the shallows near my house. There are a lot of fish on the flats this year and it looks like there is a good crop of 1-2 year old redfish. I've been catching speckled trout, redfish, flounder and a few snook. Most of the time i've been throwing soft plastics. On colder mornings i've had to use a few shrimp. Trout fishing is excellent all over Southwest Florida. Charlotte Harbor, Gasprilla Sound, Matlacha Pass and Pine Island. Shallow grass flats with patch bottom is holding the best fish. Redfish are mixed in with the trout but the reds tend to be somewhat shallower than the trout. The flounder are holding on the patch bottom with the trout. A few snook are pushed up into the shallow mud flats and will take a soft plastic or freelined hand picked shrimp.