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Hells Bay
 

Light Tackle Fishing Charters

light tackle fishing charters near Sanibel

I am now fishing from a Hell's Bay Boatworks 16' "Whipray" skiff. Absolutely the best built, driest running, shallowest floating flats skiff.

Tackle

All spinning tackle outfits consist of Loomis rods matched with Diawa SS Tournament reels. We will fish with artificial lures and/or rigged shrimp. For an artificial lure it is hard to beat a Bucktail Jig in anything but the shallowest water. In shallow water a weedless spoon, soft jerk-bait or top-water plug is obviously a better choice. There is no wrong way to fish a jig and there are not many fish that will not hit one if in a feeding mood. I mash down the barb of the hook on all artificials in order to make un-hooking and releasing fish easier.

Bait

Live shrimp can be "Texas rigged" with the barb of the hook mashed down. A shrimp rigged this way will stay on the hook when cast and will not snag during the retrieve. Casting a rigged shrimp to a tailing Redfish is an exciting form of fishing.

Fish

Jessica with Jack CrevalleRedfish, Snook and Spotted Sea-Trout are available year round and are the main targeted species in this area. Others are targeted certain times of the year, such as Tarpon.

Snook have 2 closed seasons during the year in Florida, those being June, July and August (May also on the Gulf coast) and December 15 thru January 31. It is a personal thing with me, but I will not target Snook during the closed seasons. May - August are their spawning months and instead of bothering them I would rather they make more fish for the coming years. December and January closing is due to the cold-water stress the fish are enduring.

 

Fish we have caught in Fort MyersIn addition to those already mentioned, the mix of species in this area includes Mangrove Snapper, Flounder, Spanish Mackerel, Jack Crevalle and Cobia. Also two of my favorites (both to catch and dine on), are Tripletail and Sheepshead. Tripletail can be fished for most of the year except the winter months and are a great hard-fighting fish to pursue. Sheepshead are a year round species but mostly targeted in the winter months.