Fort Myers Fishing Report Goliath Grouper Adventure

When you set out to catch a "Big Fish" you need some large live bait. I had some Clients who wanted to tangle with a big Goliath so off we went to catch some ladyfish. Live ladyfish are great for Grouper not to mention Snook and Tarpon. As soon as I pulled up to one of my favorite spots for Ladyfish they were ready to bite anything. What ensued was absolutely non-stop action. The ladyfish where hitting any lure thrown their way but showed a preference for Yo-Zuri crystal minnows. They caught a fish on every cast, or had multiple strikes and jumped a fish off. I put a few in the livewell and announced that it was time to go catch a Grouper. My suggestion was met with a resounding "What?" from the group. They were having so much fun with the Ladyfish that they wanted to keep fishing, and boy did they catch fish. What followed was 4 hours of non-stop action and the inside of the boat looked like a ladyfish exploded! This points out that as fishing guides we sometimes need to adjust our game plan. The clients never even got close to the Grouper spots that day, but they had a day of fishing to remember. Its important to recognize that sometimes catching and releasing a pile of ladyfish is better than one big fish. On days when the bite is slow drop by one of your favorite spots for ladyfish give them a try. It just might make the day.