We have had calm winds for a few weeks after a strong front cooled off the water. Water temps are now in the low 70's, this brings the reef fish in shallow water. Good catches of grouper, Gags & Reds plus snapper have been great some days, and fair other days. Using live and dead baits fished on live bottom has brought up solid fish including sharks stealing fish.

Hope you all had a joyful yet somber Memorial Day! The water has warmed to the mid 80's. The fishing inshore has been solid with Tarpon being hooked multiple times on flats with zero landings unfortunately. Trout, Snook & Redfish are also eating well. Offshore to 50ft the water is still clear which will soon change as our rains increase. Grey Snapper, Hogfish and other reef species are plentiful for spearfishing. Well offshore to 65 miles towards the Compass Rose area to 115ft the surface water is Caribbean Blue and clear with visibility stained to maybe 20ft. All rocky areas are covered in a seaweed I am not familiar with, that the fish do not like. The target was big Black Grouper we refer to as Carborita. We did see some large ones from 70 to 100lbs, but they were elusive...we will try again soon.

With very little rain the diving visibility out to 50ft deep has been excellent with top to bottom visibility in some spots. Mangrove snappers are abundant as are Hogfish, both are excellent eating. The water temps are ideal at 80 degrees. Plenty of critters and shells to look at and enjoy for those not spearing fish. A number of large sea turtles are seen on most dives, as well as Goliath Grouper.

May is a great month for fishing Southwest Florida. The offshore bite Northwest of Captiva to 9 miles out in 45ft of water has been solid for Mangrove Snapper, Grouper, and Mackerel. Gag grouper are closed for harvest but still provide a fun fight, caught while trolling deep diving lures or on bait. Inshore fishing on the flats is great with an abundance of bait present. Simultaneously, we fish for Tarpon, Trout, and Mackerel with a bonus Snook or Redfish.

Typically, Redfish are not thought of as an offshore fish, but they do gather in large schools, frequently driving bait to the surface where they feed aggressively. In this instance, I was trolling a deep diving lure about 10 miles out for Gag Grouper. I noticed a large school of bait/fish on my bottom machine and moments later this fish struck which was released; we saw far too many dead after a recent red tide to consider keeping it. Notice the pale color, this is common with inshore fish like Snook & Redfish when they are on the beaches or in deeper water; an adaptation to blend into their surroundings..