Fort Myers to Boca Grande Christmas Fishing Report

Its been unseasonably warm for the past month. It hasn't really hurt the fishing except for the flounder have pushed off the flats and more toward the gulf. Redfish and speckled trout fishing is still very good with double digit catches of both species common on 4 or 6hr trips. I've had excellent fishing in all areas of Charlotte Harbor. The east wall, west wall and Pine Island Sound are all producing about the same results. Low to mid slot redfish, lots of good trout and a few keeper flounder are normal catches on almost every trip. I've only been using artificial lures. Shrimp will also work but since its been so warm, the pinfish and trash fishing will steal most of the shrimp so you catch more fish on the lures. There are also a lot of smaller spanish mackerel and huge ladyfish running near the passes and in the middle of Charlotte Harbor. This is a good bet if you have a larger boat that doesn't fish the shallow flats well.