May 2013

THINK BIG WHEN FISHING THE MONTH OF MAY

           Of the twelve months of the year the month of May is at the top for best months for fishing the waters of southwest Florida. Two good things happen, first local waters are far less crowded as most of our winter visitors took off for the north, and second, it’s time for big fish. Tarpon, sharks, snook, redfish, you name it and this is great month to go after the big ones.

            Of course the unofficial kick-off to tarpon season begins and if you want to catch a tarpon or two, this is the time to do it. Large schools will gather off the beaches from Ft Myers north to Gasparilla, as well as in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound. Tarpon will also be hanging around the Sanibel Causeway and the Gulf passes with Boca Grande getting the most attention. It’s common to see a hundred boats or better on any given day tarpon fishing Boca Grande Pass, if you are going to fish there do your homework first.

            Where there are tarpon there will be sharks, and some big ones. For that matter sharks will be about anywhere from the shallow inshore flats to offshore reefs. The tourist industry likes to keep it quiet, but we really do have a lot of sharks in our waters. Not to worry, sharks do not pose much of a threat to humans while swimming or engaged in water related activities. When you need to keep an eye open, is if you are wade fishing or spear fishing and dragging around a stringer of fish, they don’t have any interest in you, but their natural instincts attract them to the stringer of fish in distress.  Sharks are a very under rated game fish, when caught on moderate tackle they are an absolute blast, especially high flying blacktip and spinners.

            This is the time when the big snook head for the Gulf passes for their upcoming summer spawning session. Old timers say when the royal Poinciana trees are in bloom, it’s time to fish the Passes. Well the trees in my neighborhood are blooming bright and red. Our snook population appears to be on the rebound from the cold winter of 2012, let’s do our part and handle each fish with extra care for a safe release, and never hang a large fish from its lips or mouth; this has proven to do irreversible damage to the heavier fish, likely leading to its death.  It’s best to not remove a big fish from the water at all; snook season remains closed and is strictly catch and release.

Targeting redfish should get more consistent heading into the month. Calm morning will give sight fishermen on the skinny flats some great opportunities at stalking tailer’s with many in excess of thirty inches. Look for good fishing under the shade of the mangroves on the mid-day high tides, again expect fish from sub legal to in excess of thirty inches.

This is a good month to be prepared for anything; you never know what you might run into. I like to always keep a large rig handy, just in case. If you are targeting tarpon or sharks you will already have the heavy arsenal out, but if you are just having fun on the flats with trout you never know when that once in a lifetime cobia or school of tarpon might show up. Preparation and awareness is the key, have a rod that will handle the job rigged and ready and pay attention or that trophy fish might just swim right by without you even knowing it.

            “Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell

Phone 239-283-7960

Website: www.fishpineislnd.com

Email: gcl2fish@live.com