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Your One Stop Resource For Fishing Southwest Florida Local Fishing Guides - How To Catch Information - Fishing Reports Grouper - Redfish - Tarpon - Snook - Snapper Tripletail - Sea Trout - Largemouth Bass Southwest Florida Fishing Tours Contact Us If You're Looking For Guided Fishing In Florida On Southwest Florida's Gulf Coast Catch a Big Gag Grouper like this one within sight of land. Let www.LuresThatCatchFish.com help you locate an appropriate reasonable priced fishing guide for your next fishing trip. Whether it's shallow water grouper or redfish under the mangroves we can connect you with the best fishing guide for the species of fish you would like to catch. Best rates available for full and half day fishing.
Southwest Florida Guided Fishing Tours We're in contact with many of the best local Southwest Florida fishing guides for Tarpon, Shallow Water Grouper, Redfish, Snook and Sea Trout so we know what fish are biting today. We can help arrange your guided fishing tour to ensure you have the best opportunity for a successful day on the water. We can also save you money on your Southwest Florida Guided Fishing Tour by assisting you in locating an experienced local fishing guide at a reasonable rate. We have 20 years experience fishing the flats and near shore waters of Southwest Florida. We have How To Catch eBooks on many local fish species. Visit our Lures That Catch Fish site for information on successful lures for Southwest Florida
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Southwest Florida Fishing Report ~~~Gulf Coast Guided Fishing Tours~~~ We Sponsor Catch & Release A nice slot sized redfish from Charlotte Harbor
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Lures That Catch Fish - Guided Fishing Report For July 2010
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Panoramic View Of Lake Arenal From Arenal Volcano
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Rainbow Bass If you're interested in a Guided Fishing Tour on Lake Arenal Costa Rica contact us at: Be sure to mention Lures That Catch Fish for a discount. Another Big Rainbow Bass
Lake Arenal is approximately 33 square miles extending over 25 miles from the east to the west. The lake has several rivers flowing into it and a big dam at the east end of the lake. There are a couple public ramps where boats can be launched. It's rare that you will ever see a boat on the water during your guided fishing trip on lake Arenal. The lake is up to 200 feet deep in places and is full of shorelines of dead trees and stumps sticking out of the water. Along the shoreline in many areas there is grass as weeds during the high water levels of the lake. The lake is the primary fresh water source for Costa Rica and has a hydroelectric plant. There are several small islands on the lake and some of them have ancient pottery pieces that are visible during the low water levels when the lake levels lowers supplying water to the rest of Costa Rica. more information on Rainbow Bass fishing Return To Southwest Florida Fishing Guides
How To Catch Florida Largemouth Bass Spinnerbaits - Spinnerbaits are one of the most versatile lures on the market. You can fish them anytime of the year and in almost any water conditions. Not only are spinnerbaits great for largemouth bass, but they also work on Redfish, Trout, Snook, Grouper and many other varieties of fish. The great thing about spinnerbaits is you can put together an assorted kit of blade styles, colors, head sizes and you can custom make the lure you need for any fishing situation while you on the water. There's no need to purchase a dozen commercially manufactured lures, just build the one that perfect for you from your Spinnerbait kit. Cabala's has a 154 piece Spinnerbait kit that includes Colorado, Willow leaf blades, various colored skirts, lead head, swivels, etc. You can create any Spinnerbait lure you will need from this kit for only about $34.00. Find a blade, color and size combination that catches fish and you can even start our own lure company! Stop back by to see the results of our Lake Arenal Costa Rica Spinnerbait challenge in February/March. We will be water testing many of the top Spinnerbait lures to see how well they catch Guapote Rainbow Bass. After that in March we will be testing our Spinnerbait lures on redfish in Pine Island Sound in Southwest Florida. Then in April we'll be fishing Boca Grande Pass in Englewood, Florida for Big Tarpon up to 200 pounds. In may we will be hitting Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston, Florida with Spinnerbaits for Largemouth Bass. Then we'll fish Naples Beach off Estero Florida for Gag Grouper in November. Finally we'll hit the flats out of Pineland Marina trying to catch a gator trout. So be sure to check back for the results of our Spinnerbait trials. visit our online FREE Spinnerbait evaluation and information page at: Spinnerbait Evaluations. Top water - Top water lures are some of my most favorite baits. I love the action of the strike on top water. The sudden explosion of the fish at the surface at the bait. As a kid growing up in Virginia my dad taught me how to top water fish for smallmouth bass at a very early age. I've been hooked on it ever since. I use top water lures for bass, Muskie, pike, redfish, snook, tarpon, sea trout and many other species. Most fish will hit a top water in the right conditions. Of course, it's all about presenting your lure to the fish in the appropriate manner for the existing conditions. I like big top water lures. The bigger the better for catching big trophy fish. Worms - When I first moved to Florida over 20 years ago everyone was talking about rubber worms. I bet you I must have fished a rubber worm for several months on the private lake we lived on. Nothing! One day I saw a fishing workshop being held at a local fishing tackle store. I stopped in to see what they had to say and I explained how I had fished for bass all my life in Virginia but could not even get a strike here in Florida. Well it was summer and the water temperatures were quite high, so he gave me some tips. First, he rigged up a weed less worm on a Carolina rig. He took a 7 inch Mann Red Shad rubber worm, inserted a red # 4 worm hook into it and used a Red colored bullet sinker in 1/4 ounce. Once the line was attached to the hook, he inserted a tooth pick into the front of the sinker where the line comes out to secure the sinker. He instructed me to toss the worm rig out and let it sink and rest on the bottom for a few minutes and then slowly lift my rod tip all the way up. This action dragged the worm slowly across the bottom. I would then stop and lower my rod cranking up the slack in the line and repeat this action again. I caught a 7 pound bass on the first cast. So, it's all about fishing correctly in the water and wind conditions. We will be also be doing a rubber worm evaluation and water test in the near future. Return To Southwest Florida Fishing Guides
How To Catch Sea Trout Jigs - I had been fishing in the Southwest Florida Gulf Coast flats for several years for trout, snook and redfish using every new lure that came out in the tackle stores. I was having some pretty successful fishing trips and invited a friend to go fishing with me on day. When we got on the water, I pulled out my big tackle box with countless lure combinations to fish for the day. I noticed he only had one small jig to fish with so I asked him if he wanted to use some of my lures. He replied, no and you will be wanting to use one of my lures before the day is over. He was using a 1/8 to 1/4 ounce LUV Lures jigs available at Target, and almost any local tackle shop. I tell you he caught trout, flounder, redfish, snook and lady fish like crazy. He made my loaded tackle box look ridiculous. I could not believe how successful he was fishing for all varieties with one very inexpensive lure. A 1/8 ounce pink jig with a straight tail, not the curly one. He made a believer out of me that day and now I never hit the water without a collection of LUV's Lures jigs in my tackle box. In fact my wife won't fish with anything else. She likes to catch fish when she goes and she knows the pink jig will. The rigs usually come in a package of two and they are tied together to make a tandem rig. I cut the leaders off so I have two separate jigs and I tie them on one at a time. I usually don't fish with a tandem jig setup, except maybe for fishing schooling sea trout.
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How To Catch Shallow Water Gag Grouper
Trolling Plugs - I had lived in Southwest Florida for 15 years and fished all over Pine Island Sound. I had a couple offshore boats that we went up to 50 miles offshore fishing for Gag Grouper. We'd usually spend $400 or more in gas and bait and usually come home empty handed. Sometimes we'd catch a couple keepers out of 5 fishermen on the boat. Then I made an unbelievable discovery. I don't have to go 20 to 40 miles offshore to catch BIG gag grouper. They come in close to shore a couple months every year for spawning. When I say in close to shore, I mean as shallow as 25 feet or less of water. Big 30+ gag grouper. In the last few years we have enjoyed a fantastic fishery on gag grouper in shallow Southwest Florida Gulf Coast fishing waters. I fish exclusively with big deep diving plugs for gag grouper now. I don't even use cut or live bait anymore.
Author with a 37 Inch Gag Grouper caught on a Mirro Lure Deep Diver in a Flats Boat more Gag Grouper fishing information: http://www.optimizeyourwebsites.com/How%20To%20Catch%20Gag%20Grouper%20In%20Southwest%20Florida.htm
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How To Catch Tarpon There are several methods to successfully catch Tarpon including running the beaches ahead of the advancing school of tarpon and dropping cut bait such as catfish on the bottom in front of them. This is one common tactic used by the local tarpon fishing clubs. When a big tarpon grabs the bait you'll know it! Another successful method is to wait until the tarpon go through the passes and into the Pine Island Bay area. You can see them rolling throughout the bay. Now's a great time to catch them on live baits like shiners or lures that look like shiners or fiddler crabs. It's easy to tell where the school is as there will be several hundred boats sitting around waiting for them to surface again. My favorite way to catch Tarpon is on a jig and lead sinker while the Tarpon are in the passes. The best pass is Boca Grande, Florida and the fish can be big - 200+lbs. Again you can tell where the tarpon are as there will be many boats drifting in the pass and trying to hook up with a monster. The fishing is straight forward as you only need to drop a weighted jig to the bottom and wait for a bite. It's not that simple though as there are things you must be aware of. First the fish only feed when they are on the bottom, not the surface. Although you may see thousand's of tarpon on the surface they will rarely bite. It's when the school goes to the bottom that they feed and are catchable on jigs. Many times there will be multiple hookups and you must be careful not to get to close to a hooked tarpon as he may jump into your boat with you. I have seen this on several occasions. Last year a hooked tarpon jumped into a boat full of green fishermen and it almost destroyed the boat jumping around. The folks in the boat jumped out of the boat into the pass where there were huge hammerheads and bull sharks feeding on the tarpon. A couple experienced fishing guides came over and jumped into the boat with the flopping tarpon and threw him overboard and rescued the men in the water. When fishing a lead jig on the bottom in the passes, you don't need to jerk you fishing rod to induce action on the jig. The action of the boat going up and down is enough to work the jig. The idea is to try to get out in front of the pack an drop your rig down for them to come to it. It does require a lot of moving around with the boat and you need to leave the motor running so you can get out of the way of others. Try to keep your lure as close to the bottom as possible. You need to be just off the bottom less than a foot so you won't get hung up on the rocks. The tarpon will usually hit right off the bottom as well. If you get a strike you need to point your rod at the tarpon and reel as fast as you can until you can't crank any more. This drives the hook home. About this time the tarpon will probably be making a jump anyway. When the tarpon jumps out of the water you need to drop you rod tip down quickly. It's important to release the pressure on the line as the fish jumps, otherwise he will throw your lead jig. You can tell when the tarpon is about to jump as the line will start heading toward the surface at an angle. So be ready to drop your rod when the tarpon breaks the surface. If you are successful in the hookup and keeping the fish during the jumping, you will have to chase the tarpon with your boat. Get a comfortable seat up front with a belt rod holder so you can settle in and chase the tarpon for up to an hour or more. The hooked tarpon will go all around the pass until it tires out. Then you can bring him to the boat and release him. Be aware of the sharks in the water as you release the fish or the sharks will get him as he will be tired from the fight.
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How To Catch Redfish
Live Bait
Fishing for redfish with live baits
is almost to easy. Redfish loath pinfish as they
raid their nest and eat their young. I believe
redfish hit pinfish out of anger as much as for
food. Pinfish can be easily gathered with a cast net
or by small hook and line. I usually go out to the
shallow flats in three feet of water where there are
white/yellow pot holes and drop a small piece of
shrimp on a small bluegill golden hook with 6 lb
fishing line and a floater up about two feet. You
won't have to wait long to start catching small to
hand size pinfish if the baitfish is inshore. Most
local guides prefer to use the local whitebait or
shiners for fishing, but I would much rather have a
nice pinfish myself. The whitebait is very difficult
to keep alive. You must have a large circular live
well with a strong circulation pump to keep
whitebait alive. Also once you hook them they won't
last long in the water. They will die quickly or get
sluggish and not attract a strike. Pinfish on the
other hand will live all day in a basic live well or
even a bait bucket and will stay alive and active on
the hook much longer, and of course they are the
natural enemies of the redfish.
After you have collected a dozen nice
pinfish from 3 to 4 inches long, head for the
mangroves to start locating redfish. My standard
rigging for redfish includes a 50 lb mono leader (or
larger) and 20 lb mono fishing line. The reason for
the heavy leader is because you may hook up with a
big Snook while red fishing and you won't have a
chance of landing the
Snook on smaller test lines. Tie on a
torpedo floater about two feet above your hook. I
personally like the torpedo white floaters with a
red band at the top and two swivel connections at
the top or bottom of the floater. I tie my fishing
20 lb mono line on the top swivel and my 50 lb
leader on the bottom swivel. I attach a large
durable number 4.0 hook on the end of the 50 lb
leader and hook one of the pinfish just in front of
the top fin of the pinfish. Make a very light
incision with the hook and the fish will last
longer. Throw the floater and pinfish as close to or
better yet underneath overhanging mangroves along
the islands in the Pine Island Sound and look out.
Pop the floater every few minutes. This is what is
great about these white torpedo floaters. They have
a concave top that makes a popping sound when you
jerk the rod tip quickly. The redfish may go back
into the mangrove roots for hundred's of feet in
search of food inside the mangrove roots. When they
hear the popping noise of your floater they think
it's another fish feeding and they come out of the
mangroves investigate the noise. That's when
they see your pinfish and strike it. The white
floater will simply disappear for sight and you may
hear nothing so always keep your eyes on the
floater. You will be able to see the floater rushing
along the mangroves underwater and that's when you
crank up the slack and set the hook. Be sure as
mentioned above to lean your rod toward the
direction the fish is heading and not against. I
like to hit my trolling motor during the initial
stages of the fight to get the redfish away from the
mangroves as much as possible. If you can get your
boat a hundred feet away from the mangroves and into
the open water, you will most likely be able to land
the redfish. The redfish won't break the water like
a Snook or Bass, but it will make several circles
around your boat before giving up. Try to wear the
fish down some before bringing the fish to the boat,
otherwise when it sees the boat it will make a
strong surge and possibly break your line.
This method also works great
for Kayak fishing or wade fishing. Many of the
inshore islands are within reach of wade fishing
from shore. Beware of stepping on sting rays though
as this accounts for most of the hospital visits by
tourist and fishermen wading the shallow waters of
Southwest Florida. It's a good idea to shuffle your
feet along the bottom ahead of yourself, this way
alerting the sting rays of your approach. Wade
fishing is the absolute best way to catch 50 huge
redfish in a day. I have had redfish swimming around
by feet as I fish for them by wade fishing the
mangrove islands.
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Southwest Florida Fishing Guides
Spinnerbaits For Bass Spinnerbaits - Spinnerbaits are one of the most versatile lures on the market. You can fish them anytime of the year and in almost any water conditions. Not only are spinnerbaits great for largemouth bass, but they also work on Redfish, Trout, Snook, Grouper and many other varieties of fish. The great thing about spinnerbaits is you can put together an assorted kit of blade styles, colors, head sizes and you can custom make the lure you need for any fishing situation while you on the water. There's no need to purchase a dozen commercially manufactured lures, just build the one that perfect for you from your Spinnerbait kit. Cabala's has a 154 piece Spinnerbait kit that includes Colorado, Willow leaf blades, various colored skirts, lead head, swivels, etc. You can create any Spinnerbait lure you will need from this kit for only about $34.00. Find a blade, color and size combination that catches fish and you can even start our own lure company! Stop back by to see the results of our Lake Arenal Costa Rica Spinnerbait challenge in February/March. We will be water testing many of the top Spinnerbait lures to see how well they catch Guapote Rainbow Bass. After that in March we will be testing our Spinnerbait lures on redfish in Pine Island Sound in Southwest Florida. Then in April we'll be fishing Boca Grande Pass in Englewood, Florida for Big Tarpon up to 200 pounds. In may we will be hitting Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston, Florida with Spinnerbaits for Largemouth Bass. Then we'll fish Naples Beach off Estero Florida for Gag Grouper in November. Finally we'll hit the flats out of Pineland Marina trying to catch a gator trout. So be sure to check back for the results of our Spinnerbait trials. visit our online FREE Spinnerbait evaluation and information page at: Spinnerbait Evaluations. Return To Southwest Florida Fishing Guides
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Shallow
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