I was just talking with Ken at Master Bait & Tackle in Bonita Springs. He tells me that the wind has layed down and his customers are catching a wide variety of fish. Grouper fishing is excellent. One of Kens customers landed two keeper red grouper this afternoon and another brought in three gag grouper. One was 16lb, one was 31lb, and the third was 40lb. All were caught while trolling Man's Lures in 65ft of water around breaks in the bottom. Ken tells me that this is his favorite way to fish for grouper because of the boat retelling strikes it produces. Anchoring around structure and fishing live or frozen sardines on the bottom will produce a lot of grouper. Snapper are being caught by dropping cut bait in the same areas you find the grouper. Quite a few permit can also be caught around offshore wrecks and structure. If you can find crab traps you will be able to find tripletail. Tripletail love to swim around trap buoys, but few traps are out this time of year. A good number of bonita can be caught trolling around bait schools. King mackerel are in the same areas as the bonita, so be prepared by using a short piece of wire leader above your hook or lure. Cobia are cruising the beach. Some pompano are also on the beach. Tarpon are in the passes around Sanibel Island. Look for tarpon around Knapps Point to the south and Redfish Pass farther north. A decent number of speckled trout are being caught in the Intracoastal Waterway along with huge redfish. Sharks are every where! For more information contact;
Master Bait & Tackle
239-992-2553
4465 Bonita Beach Rd
Bonita Springs, FL 34134
www.masterbaitonline.com/
