Fort Myers to Boca Grande early spring fishing report 2012

This year continues to be the warmest winter that I can remember. The water temps are in the 70's and the fish are acting like its already spring. Some sardines have already started moving in on the flats. I have also spotted tarpon in a number of areas but the weather has not been favorable for targeting tarpon. Redfish fishing in Pine Island and Charlotte Harbor continues to be my main target species. The higher tides have been the best but on occasion I've caught good redfish on the lower tides. The warmer than normal water temps have really changed the paterns of the redfish for this time of year. A lot of the redfish are already in large schools. When you find the school you can catch a lot of fish but if you don't find the school then you probably won't catch any redfish. Specked trout fishing is still good but not as good as past years. I am having a harder time location the larger 20-25 inch trout. Most of the speckled trout on the flats are lower slot or under sized fish. Flounder fishing is almost dried up because the trout are so aggressive that a flounder doesn't have change to get the bait. I'm still catching a couple per trip but the quality is low. Snook fishing is improving and the use of live sardines is helping anglers catch good number of snook for the fist time in a few years. Charlotte Harbor is the better area for the snook right now. All snook fishing is catch and release only on our coast. Tarpon and sharks are starting to move into Southwest Florida. I saw a tarpon in 4 different areas on one scouting trip last week. We weather was not great for targeting tarpon and it didn't get any hook-ups but the fish were there and they were big. It won't be long if it staying this warm.