Fishing Ft myers Beach

Capt. Mike Denegre of Good Time charters reports the grass flats of Estero Bay are banging with sea trout.  This past week saw an exceptional bite in the morning.  Floating live shrimp under a popping cork just enough to keep the shrimp above the grass worked great.  Popping the cork under the water was key to drawing these fish in.  Once hooked bringing them to the boat gently was crucial so as not to tear the hook from their weak mouth.  The larger trout ran just over 20″ but there were plenty within the slot and below.  The mangrove islands are alive with mangrove snapper who were more then anxious to pounce on live shrimp.  when targeting mangrove snapper capt. mike recommends smaller to midsize shrimp as they will hit the hook quicker then if they have to break up a bigger one. 12″ snapper were abundant but you may have to weed through a lot of shorties too.  End of the week saw an improvement in the redfish bite.  Reds were found feeding along the mangroves often deep under the branches.  floating a shrimp into these hard to reach spots with popping corks works great.