Southwest Florida Fishing Report - Bonita Springs to Captiva

If you want to catch fish and lots of them, this is going to be a great week. The New Moon (12/23) will provide some killer tide flows. The best tides will be the Ebb or outgoing. Fish will be stacked up along deeper channels adjacent to flats. Tuesday (23rd Dec) over a minus 1.0 tide. Fishing will be like throwing a lure into a bath tub. Best Bets: Trout are out of season until 1/1/2004 but this cold weather has really created a biting frenzy. Big Trout. The over 20" Zepplin size can be found along oyster banks and grass flats in Estero Bay and San Carlos Bay in front of Bunche (no relation) Beach. Another great spot for Big Trout is the area of grass in front of Tarpon Bay. Take a chum bag filled with shrimp heads and drop it the water. This will bring Trout and Redfish to you if they are anywhere in the area. Perhaps my #1 Best Bet is trolling Big Lip Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow DD's Lures at the May and DGH Reef. I like the lime green color. These hot babies dive to a depth of 20-22ft which is perfect for the BIG Gag Grouper that have moved in with the cold snap. Tip of the week for fishing low tides: Do NOT go back on the Flats when tide is going out. A minus 1.0 tide could leave you high and dry and you might miss Christmas Dinner! "GiddyUp"