Work'n Hard, Hardly Working

Good results 20-45 miles out, weather permitting. Lousy rain cycle made for rough sledding but soon crews braved the monsoon and reported good grouper, cobia kings and snapper action outa Boca. Livebait was the easy way to go, as usual, pins, blue runners, threads, the like. Trollers found active kings and big bonito around the masses of bait running the reefs. Short fishing week with poor weather but the more typical weather patterns are forecast to return, lets hope so! {%image_id=49555%} In the backbay Lots of liners on the beaches from Lovers Key in Ft. Myers to Boca. Night bites are red hot with mobs of snook in the passes, Blind Pass on Sanibel has been killer, as well as Redfish and Captiva passes. Flats action has been tough at times with the freshwater deluge and flooded out feeder creeks. At least the rain is washing the out the crud grass flats and off the beaches. Estero Bay reported doable redfish bites, some trout and plenty of juvie snook. Pine Island has picked up with good numbers od slot reds eating shrimp and cutbaits. Up on Burnt Store Bars guys reported fast moving mobs of oversized reds, it and miss with spoons, Gulps and freelined pins. We fished the Peace river and found a mess a snook but rain curtailed our outings. Snapper and sheepies saved the pier and dock fishermen's day. The Boca Big Drift remains doable with tarpon and big ole nasty sharks hacking baits. Capt. Ron Kowalyk www.fishswfla.com [email protected] 239-267-9312