Southwest florida fishing reports - Tarpon, Snook, and Redfishing in Naples and Marco Island

A Tribute to Charles Shortall

aron — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:26:42 +0000

One of my best fishing clients Charles Shortall from Baltimore MD Passed away Friday January 20th 2012 after a brief battle with cancer. Charles was a great Husband, Father, Grandfather and great friend to many including myself. He averaged 20-25 days a year on my boat and we shared many great days of fishing together. He was down over Thanksgiving week and had 6 trips booked with me. He complained about back pains and said he needed to get checked out when he got back home. He made all but the last of the 6 days booked with me. He had some incredible days of Red fishing during those trips and when he was in too much pain to make the last day he told me he would call me later for his spring dates. That was the last time we talked. He was a great angler and friend to me. I will miss him very much.

I hope you’re up there with a fishing Rod in your hand old friend

Fishing is RED HOT in the Ten Thousand Islands

aron — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 01:41:04 +0000

Fishing is on fire from Naples to Chokoloskee. I have been killing the Redfish From Marco island south. The Reds are anywhere from 18-27″ and we have been catching up to 20-50 a day and that’s no fish story. I have been using 3/8 oz Bucktail jigs in white or yellow tipped with a very small piece of shrimp. I have been fishing large concentrations of mullet over shallow hard bottom areas on the outside islands. The Reds have been mixed in with the mullet along with Speckled Trout, Pompano, Jacks, Ladyfish Bluefish and a few Snook mixed in. There are also big Sharks in the area as well. The key to finding the great bite has been an incoming tide, clean water and abundance of bait fish. If you find these conditions you will find the fish. This fishing should remain strong except right after the cold fronts and then it usually takes a few days to pick back up.

The Snook fishing has also been great From Marco to Naples. I fished a couple days in that area last week and had 20-30 Snook mornings. Some of the fish were in the 30-32″ range and we had a few on that were larger but broke us off on a Mangrove tree. For the Snook I was using live shiners.

A few False Albacore have been showing up on the beaches but not in consistent numbers. If the water temps drop a little and the wind stays out of the East/North East that bite should get better.

A busy few weeks coming up. I hope I have more great fishing to report.

Captain Aron Blaisdell

Recent Catches

Summer fishing 2011 Naples to Chokoloskee…

aron — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 23:54:02 +0000

It has been a typical summer here in SW Florida, muggy mornings and happy fish. The Snook fishing has gotten better this year for sure. After the big fish Kill of January 2010 I can finally say we are on the rebound. Snook season remains closed for dinner but its working. They are talking about opening it back up in 2012 but I would like to see at least one more year of closure. The numbers are on the up for sure but we need to keep it that way. If your into eating fish there are plenty of other species to target. Speckled Trout, Snapper and Redfish all are here in good numbers and will make great table fare. Speaking of Redfish, we are still experiencing some of the best Redfishing I have ever seen in this area. Granted there are many small fish but they grow fast and fight hard. Anglers and guides all over the coast are reporting the same with double digit days. Some of the big oversize Reds are late to show this year but they should be moving in anytime. I’m getting a few over the slot of(18-27″) but they seem to be singles and pairs of them hear and there and around the 28-34″ class. The Red fishery here just keeps getting better and better and are one of my favorite fish to target.

The Tarpon fishing has been great as well with good numbers of fish in the early morning hours. I have been preferring the last few hours of the outgoing tides. They seem to be hanging around the deeper cuts and holes mixed in with mullet and Ladyfish activity. The best bets have been live mullet as bait or anything dead sitting on the bottom. The next six weeks should be the last good run of Tarpon for the year before the cold fronts send them packing. If we have mild weather in November and December they will stick around though.

Another great fishery just around the corner is the False Albacore run. These hard fighters will be under the bait schools just off the beach. They are easy to find and make a fun day of fishing especially on a fly rod. A typical trip is running the beaches looking for large numbers of birds dipping and diving on the bait schools. The larger more compact flocks of birds the better. The Albies will be busting the bait and will give them selves away by the large explosions on top of the water. It can be so violent at times that you can even talk to the other guys in the boat over the sounds of the feeding fish. The drag screaming runs they make are unlike any fish I have ever caught on light tackle. I hope to get some of this action on video this year so I can post it on my blog for you all to see. Maybe you can come down and get in on the action. Hopefully I will see all my regular and past anglers soon. I have been starting to get emails and calls from a bunch of you and I look forward to more of our fishing Adventures together.

Also I can take up to 4 people now since I have been running a bigger boat. So if you want to take the family out for a great day of memories please give me a call and set up a date.

Captain Aron Blaisdell

2011 Spring and Summer Wall of fame

Merry Christmas! Summer and fall 2010 Fishing Report

aron — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 04:29:34 +0000

Let me start by wishing all the best to my family, Friends and all who have fished with me for the last 13+ years. I have met many great people that have become great friends and I want to thank you all for supporting my way of life. May you and your families have a great Holiday and have a great New Year! I hope to see you all in 2011.

Now lets get to the fishing. I know I know, the fishing reports have been lacking. Many of you have let me know and I hope to stay on top of this.

I have had a great Summer fishing for Tarpon and Redfish. The Tarpon Season was late as usual with varied success in the spring months. Once again we received a healthy dose of wind this Spring and very few Tarpon spots were sparred until June. I think we put more Tarpon in the air in the month of June than March through May. The Wind died, the temps rose and Tarpon were loving it. I had great luck inshore and off.

I was lucky enough to fish with a fishing legend Left Kreh for three days in April. He was a guest with a group from Spring creek Anglers in AK. We had very tough conditions for Tarpon. We threw at some everyday but the winds just had them shut down. Between both boats I believed only a couple were jumped. It was great hearing about the area and players from years past. He has fished just about everywhere with everyone. He was great to have on my boat and had my ear for three days.

Snook have been still tough South of Goodland since January 2010’s big Florida freeze. The cold knocked the population of Snook down dramatically. The Snook were best this Spring through fall around Marco Island to Estero Bay. The beaches held a ton of fish at times and I ran my trips North for the Snook. Hopefully they start migrating back into the islands and fatten up our population.

Redfish have been the story of the year. We have had more Redfish than I have ever seen all up and down the coast. Granted many are 15-18″ but there are plenty slot and above fish around. Even some of the third generation guides have never anything like this. Redfish grow quick so this is good news for our fishery. I have been getting them in the deeper holes and sight fishing them in the shallows.

The end of October and November brought big schools of bait just off the beaches. The Birds would be balled up showing thei location. Predators underneath were Spanish Mackerel, False Albacore, Sharks and Tarpon. My favorite can be the False Albacore. We were using flies, spoons and jigs worked as fast as you could. These fish make long hard runs making it fun on light tackle.

This December has been very cold so far. The water Temps are now in the high 50’s and this has changed the fishing to the winter patterns. Sea Trout, pompano, and Redfish are the main targets now. Fishing slow and near the bottom is producing the best bite. Buck tail jigs tipped with the shrimp is always a winner.

I recently purchase another boat for my fishing trips. Its a 22ft Pathfinder Tournament model. I can take 3 comfortably and sometimes 4. I will be utilizing the larger size for some more near shore wreck fishing. I have been really enjoying the boat on my recent charters.

Well the next few days I will be fishing for Redfish in the skinny. I will be poling the Hewes around hunting them down.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Captain Aron Blaisdell

May fishing in the Ten Thousand Islands , Tarpon are here!

aron — Thu, 27 May 2010 16:05:30 +0000

Wednesday May 26th I ran all over looking for Tarpon. We found fish first spot of the morning and never had a take. After that we ran to at least 7 or 8 spots only to find a couple fish here and there and never really getting a great shot. We moved offshore to find slick conditions and bait all over but no Tarpon. In the last month we have had days like this but also days filled with hook ups. That’s Tarpon fishing or “hunting” as I like to call it. I have been averaging 2 hook ups a day with the fly guys and even had 7 hook ups the other day with 2 spin guys. We had 2 doubles making for some exciting fishing. Patience is key when Tarpon fishing. Stealth is very important as well as pin point casts. This can get frustrating and boring but hooking up and watching monster prehistoric fish launching out of the water makes the effort all worth it. The Tarpon fishing will only get better from now through the summer.

The Snook fishing is another story. The Snook have been on the beaches and passes in good numbers but the fish in the islands have been slow. I have been catching fish in very limited areas and it seems I have to keep going back to the same areas to find them. There are bays that have zero fish in them. I think the Snook kill we had definitely had a major effect on our numbers. A guide buddy out of Chokoloskee estimates that we lost 70% of our resident Snook.

The best bite for Snook has been to the North, specifically Estero bay. I was up in Estero this week and did very well on Snook and Reds. We got 4 reds and a few dozen Snook to 30 inches. I believe the Snook bite in Estero is so good because very few dead Snook were found during the big cold snap this winter. Hopefully it gets better to the South very soon.

I will have a few more reports soon. I had a very special guest on my boat for 3 days in April I want to share and also want to talk about the oil in the Gulf. I have been getting many calls, texts and e-mails concerning the oil. So far so good here. But…….

Stay tuned

Aron

April Fishing in the Everglades starts out hot! Snook and Tarpon moving in..

aron — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:51:33 +0000

Well since January I have been in full winter fishing mode. Most days air temps in Southwest Florida never get out of the sixties. We had many cold nights and heavy winds making the fishing very tough. The winter fishing was great this year though specifically the Sea Trout. This has been one of the strongest bites for Sea Trout I have seen in a long time. Jigs tipped with a piece of shrimp bounced along edges and flats has been the best way to catch these tasty winter species. Ladyfish are everywhere and the Redfishing was also excellent. We had some very nice clear water sight fishing for shallow water Redfish. Throwing perfect casts were a must and some of the fish were up to 35″. The toughest catch have been the Snook. Since the fish kill in January I have seen a bunch of big Snook often grouped up with other big Snook trying to sun and stay warm. I couldn’t catch any of them most days and even thought about spearing one with my pushpole it would get so frustrating. Water temps have edged up into the low seventies now and the Snook are starting to come out of their winter haunts. I’m getting more by the day and some of them are BIG. Also Tarpon are here. My first two came last week. A 100 and 120lber on cut bait. Then the winds picked up and another front blew in sending them out of the islands. But this week it is Hot and Warm and they are moving back in.

The fishing should only get better from now till Fall. last June and July was some of the best fishing for Snook and tarpon I have ever had. I hope it’s more of the same this year.

Captain Aron Blaisdell

Recent catches:

January 2010, Naples Fl Fishing Report…Cold!

aron — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:56:38 +0000

Well I would like to start of by saying Happy New Year to all. It was a great start for my wife and I. We welcome our newborn son Charles Jacob Blaisdell who arrived 1-11-2010 and we are glad to report he is happy and healthy. He weighed in at 8lbs 3 ounces. I took a week off to adjust and help my wife who is still in some pain but feeling better.

Now for some not so good news. The last two weeks Southwest Florida received some of the coldest temperatures on record and it went for many days resulting in deadly low water temps. Most of our fish could not take the cold water and the result is absolute devastation. The Snook have been hit the hardest and there are thousands of dead fish everywhere. The FWC has closed Snook season until September but I do not think this will help. It may take several years for our fishery to recover. The Redfish seem to be okay with many being spotted in the shallows but not eating much. We are experiencing a warm up so hopefully we will see some better action. I hope for the best and I wait for the spring in summer when the Snook bite is at it’s peak to see how bad it really is. I will be on the water this week and will post a new report with my findings.

Captain Aron Blaisdell

November Fishing, getting out of the wind..

aron — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:53:54 +0000

November usually is a transition month for the fish. The start of the cold fronts and shorter days have dropped the water temps from the 80’s to high 60’s and low 70’s. This all can turn the fishing into a mixed bag of winter species and summer species. The bait migration has started to flood the beaches and the islands around Southwest Florida. The wind has been dictating the fishing but wse are protected by thousands of islands creating many lees to fish in. The offshore Charter boats had many cancellations for sure but the backwaters always provide areas to get out of the wind. Early in the month we had a week of winds blowing 20- 30 knots and gusts over 40. The winds were out of the East/South East leaving the beaches flat calm. I had a week of charters just fishing around the passes and beaches scoring on Tarpon, Snook, Redfish, Jacks, Mackeral and Bonita. There were acres of birds a few hundred yards of the beach dipping on the bait schools and the action was great.

I had a Two boat trip scheduled one day last week and the guests called me the evening before and canceled because they heard the weather man call for windy conditions. This left me in a predicament with the other guide I had booked for the trip. The weather call should always be up to the Captain the day of the trip. As many know never trust the weatherman. It was unfortunate because I ended up going myself and the fishing was off the hook and the wind was of no concern fishing the backwaters. I guess some guides will take people out no matter the conditions just to take their money. I personally am not like that. I have gone out and had slow fishing and have given out quite a few trips over the years due to less than par fishing or going out and coming in early due to bad weather. My main concern is the best possible experience for my guests. The only way I can survive in this business is to keep them coming back.

Captain Aron Blaisdell

September Reds showing, Southwest Fl.

aron — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:49:22 +0000

Redfish are showing up from Flamingo Ft Myers, in all sizes. The best way to target these fish are with jigs (1/4-3/8ths) with just enough weight to get on the bottom. I like throwing new penny or white Berkely Gulp shrimp on a jig head . This has been working on the higher tides around the Mangroves. When the tide level drops. I like to sight fish them in the shallow coves on fly. They will eat just about any pattern as long as you get the fly in the kitchen. They tend to like a slow retrieve with short pauses. That is my favorite way to target the Redfish. You get to watch the fish eat the fly, it doesn’t get any better than that. The Reds have been from 15-30 inches.

Tarpon are still consistent in the southern Marco area. A majority of the fish are in the channels and beaches but they seem to be hungry. I had a first time inshore angler battle a tough 60-70lb fish for about an hour last week. It was one of the toughest Tarpon for that size I have seen. It pulled us around for just about an hour and pulled us over a mile away from where we hooked it. When I finally grabbed the leader the fish went crazy and made one more incredible jump snapping the line.

Snook fishing has been great as well but it seems most are on the small size. The big girls should be coming back anytime. This should all get better till we get a couple cold fronts. Until then. I will be taking advantage of the fall bite.

2009 Naples Fishing Season: Time For Some Golf

aron — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:54:37 +0000

It has been a very busy week of fishing and it looks like my season is coming to an end. I will be getting some much needed days off to fix busted tackle, my beat up boat and catch up on my Golf game.

It was a week of Tarpon fishing. It started out tough hooking only a fish or two a day to a stronger tide and up to 20 Jumped in two days. Tarpon fishing in the The Ten Thousand Islands can be a struggle at times. It seems the stars need to be aligned to make everything come together. You need light or no wind, a good tide and warm water for Ideal conditions. My trip Sunday and Monday with Mark and Eric it seemed to all come together. It wasn’t easy but we managed a good amount of fish. We had lost 4 big fish in 15 minutes on Monday morning finally sticking the 5th. It was a big Tarpon @ 100lbs or so. We ended that day jumping 12 fish. My personal boat record is 13 in one day. The 2 days with Mark and Eric were a good time. We had some heart breakers with some fish getting off almost after an hour fight. That is how it goes with Tarpon. You will lose more than you land for sure. We did end our trip together with a double Tarpon hook up and both landed. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Captain Aron Blaisdell