10,000 Islands Fishing Report March 24th

March 25, 2016 - Posted by Steve Dall A Soggy 10k Easter Egg Hunt? The area’s remaining turbid water clarity and lower salinity should get another nice cleansing this weekend with this past week’s full moon bringing us stronger than normal mid to late afternoon high tides and mid-morning low tides that will be higher than normal. Unfortunately, if the weather forecast holds, we’ll see chances of rain Saturday and Sunday and that could churn up the water once again. As of this writing, south to southeast winds in the mid- teens may limit your inventory of fishable spots, but always remember that good tides and wind can be more your friend than foe at times, if you have the patience and boat control skills to fish in such conditions. With a combination of families watching the kids on Easter egg hunts and the potential rain, boat traffic should be at a minimum this weekend. Water temps should continue to climb into the upper 70’s and low 80’s again with the warming trend that has followed the quick cold front that came through earlier in the week. Anyone that has fished this calendar year in the 10,000 Islands has certainly noticed that our fishery is certainly “off” it’s game due to the aforementioned water clarity and effects of the freshwater runoff, but the conditions are improving daily and albeit gradually, so has the fishing. Earlier in the week, we saw a nice dose of tarpon showing up with active rollers being seen from Jackfish Island all the way to Kingston Key. While the evidence of tarpon anglers were certainly present on the outside islands throughout the week, strong southerly winds last Friday, coupled with the cold front, sent quite a few of these fish to the inactive list. As the weather stabilizes, look for their activity to return on the outside islands and their adjacent bays and passes. My clients and I focused on several smaller bays near the outsides islands on incoming tides throughout the week to avoid the fishing pressure and winds and were rewarded with quite a few fish in the air. Live ladyfish, threadfins, large soft plastic jerkbaits in darker hues such as the 7” Hogy and several 4-5” bass style swimbaits got us bites. With the warming water temps, metabolisms are on the rise for other finned creatures of the 10k. Snook are beginning to chew with a bit more frequency in conjunction with their migration out of the backcountry. You can intercept these linesiders at perennial outside points with solid current flow such as the Round Key, Indian Key and West Pass areas provided the water is moderately clear. Near hand-sized pilchards will yield slot sized fish to those willing to hunt them down and a myriad of artificial baits will take their fair share of small to mid-sized fish. Twitch baits, in particular the newly released Rapala Shadow Rap Shad in both the deep and shallow models, seems like a winner, but switch out those light wire treble hooks if targeting bigger drag screamers. Finding the right cadence is the key with twitch baits, but few can resist a twitch, twitch, pause retrieve, with nearly all bites coming on the pause. While snook season remains open in the area through April 30th, please practice selective harvest. Redfish continue to be hit or miss, with isolated bunches of fish in select areas of Fakahatchee and Blackwater on the higher tides. With the dingier water, adding scent and vibration to your arsenal will get you bit more regularly. Ladyfish chunks have been taking precedence over white bait and shrimp in recent days and dark colored paddle tail soft plastics have been moving there fair share of copper pennies. Don’t be afraid to milk an area, especially if the water remains dingy, but if it clears, certainly be prepared to be on the move to find the most active fish. Speckled trout continue to be on the smaller side closer to Goodland and Marco Island for the jig and popping cork anglers, but solid, upper teen keeper trout are still being caught with some mid 20 inch sabertooths being landed by those fishing the Pavilion area. The tried and true popping cork and shrimp will bend rods pretty much throughout the area for the families visiting for the Easter holiday weekend. Offshore anglers should heed a bit of caution with the forecasted weather this weekend, but all is not lost if you don’t want to make the big runs. Make a few stops at the plethora of nearshore reefs within a 15 mile radius south and southwest of Cape Romano as reports of keeper mangrove snappers, solid sheepshead and smaller grouper are littering the reefs. Knocker and Chicken Rigs tipped with frozen threadfins and squid are taking fish pretty consistently. Be on the lookout for those cobia while you are out there as several nice fish were reported this week. Tip of the Week: Know anyone up north that uses slip bobbers? The days of the old string and bead style has been replaced with a smaller rubber version that simply slips on your line and if needed, can be wound through your guides. Bass guys have been using these for years to peg their sinkers when using soft plastics. I have found they are great to peg smaller egg sinkers in lieu of split shots as the split shot can crimp your leader at times and compromise its integrity. They also can be used to hold up a weathered popping cork that wants to slip down your line. Lots of uses for these very cheap terminal tackle wonders! Until next week, tight lines and screamin’ drags… Captain Steve Dall USCG Licensed Captain- 10K Islands & Estero Bay (239) 405-9898 www.poseidonschoice.com Read more: http://www.floridasportsman.com/2016/03/24/10000-islands-weekend-fishing-4cast/#ixzz43yXq4S00