Marco Island & Estero Bay Fishing Report- May 20, 2016

June 9, 2016 - Posted by Steve Dall May 20-22: Summer Returns! Weather & Tides… While summer won’t officially return on the calendars until June, we are certainly on the front end of near daily summer conditions. Steamy, balmy and afternoon thunderstorms are all starting to have their daily effect, so be safe and plan accordingly. Friday will see upper 80 degree temps with mild winds from the south, Saturday much of the same with winds picking up a bit and more SSW and Sunday looks to be the wettest day of the weekend with some accompanying stronger winds from the west. In addition, with the full moon on Sunday, you’ll experience some higher than normal low tides in the early morning with super high tides in the early to mid- afternoon, before they dump out to a negative low around sunset. Inshore…. The snook fishing continues to be great and they can be caught all throughout the region on quite a variety of baits and conditions. If there was a preferred way for me to target them, I would elect to fish for bigger breed stock females on the nearshore wrecks with a live ladyfish, big threadfin or a whole live mullet. I would then move in to fish the dock lights right now for some action and a chance at a bruiser linesider. These nocturnal fish will be around all summer on the dock lights, but the bugs just aren’t that fierce right now, so take advantage of stalking them after the sun goes down. Tarpon action is day to day, with some good, consistent bites coming from Caxambas on the outgoing tide and some nearshore roaming pods in low light conditions. With this weekend’s strong afternoon outgoing tide, it may be a good bet to set up in any number of the passes spanning south such as Sandfly and Indian Key and target the outside flats in the morning on the incoming from Demijohn Key to Mormon Key. While you are in the area, hit Pavillion Key’s vast grass flats for some rod bending action from the spotted sabertooths, the speckled sea trout, as they can provide nice action on simple rigs such as popping corks and small paddle tail swimbaits. Permit continue to be the focus of many and after a few weeks, they are starting to know we are all on the hunt, so some stealth should be had as you approach your favorite reef and don’t be shocked if you see some free roaming fish in smaller schools as you run spot to spot, especially in the northern part of the region. Crabs are still the ticket, so find them before the weekend. Serenity Bait off of Davis Road has been having a good supply as does Master Bait and Tackle in Bonita Springs, but be sure to call ahead before making a dedicated trip to get them. Offshore…. Smaller sized groupers, both of the gag and red variety are teaming the nearshore wrecks with better fish being a bit deeper still in that 60-80 foot range on the subtle ledges and honey combed bottom. Grunts, Threadfins and squid are bending rods right now and with the calm conditions on Friday, that would be stellar day to tackle them. Mix in some red snappers, occasional kingfish and some reports of nice sized blackfin tuna from a team out of Naples this week, should inspire you to explore this weekend. Amberjack are still screaming drags a bit further out for those that dare fight them in this humidity, but be sure to have a bottle of water ready as there are still some giants roaming out there. Until next week, tight lines and screamin’ drags…. Captain Steve Dall www.poseidonschoice.com