# Fort Meyers Fishing guide?



## ski (May 13, 2004)

Have a last minute trip with wife to fort Meyers beach. Thinking about possibly getting a last minute fishing charter for myself inshore. Any advice or been fishing here before? I’ve never fished in Florida. 
Ski


----------



## Richman (Sep 1, 2007)

ski said:


> Have a last minute trip with wife to fort Meyers beach. Thinking about possibly getting a last minute fishing charter for myself inshore. Any advice or been fishing here before? I’ve never fished in Florida.
> Ski


If you don’t want to charter.....go on Google maps and pick out several passes that have access to the gulf. Go to a local bait and tackle and pick up a bait called a Montes jigging spoon (pink). Put them on 8 pound spinning gear and rip em up off the bottom let em flutter down and repeat....and hang on.
Passes should have ample trout, snook, pompano, and jacks right now. Watch the tides so you have ample current incoming or outgoing. Enjoy

Good luck

Rich


----------



## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Fish big Carlos pass.


----------



## ski (May 13, 2004)

Thanks! Our house is about 1/4 mile from the 865 bridge to fort Meyers beach and is on the water with two docks. Maybe I’ll just fish off the dock or walk up to the north point of fort Meyers beach. Heard it can be good up there also.
Ski


----------



## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

if you can spare the money get the charter. he should know where to fish and what it takes to catch a few.

i'll recommend a charter anytime you go to fish in a place and in a way you've never fished. its money well spent.

when I wanted to fish the central basin the only dipsy I had seen was on a shelf. but 2 days with a charter that had us doing all the work I was able to go out and fish with 6 dipsy's, 3 on each side. I still had a lot to learn and even now I'm still learning. we did get a few tangles. the worst reason was we would put a left diver on the right side of the boat. but we don't have that problem anymore. first I numbered the rods and holders with matching numbers. now I just use the sg17lca reel on the port side and the sg17lc3b reel on the starboard side. the lca has silver trim where the lc3b has gold trim.
sherman


----------



## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

ENVY! 
maybe this link will help ya;?
https://forums.floridasportsman.com/discussion/56376/big-carlos-pass


It's been-a-while since I've been there,,,, & we really didn't even plan on fishing! (imagine that!?)
So, I borrowed a friends pole & chucked in a 1/2" of hotdog on a bottom stacker rig. I was fishing the inlet cove behind his mobile home,,, like brine water but still close enough for a tide rise.
In minutes, I was catching CATFISH!!!? One after another,,,, non-stop. What a ball. We ate GOOD that night!
And if I had more time, I could show you a pic of the exact high wall/ spot where we caught dozens of blue crabs,,,,, using a piece of chicken wing on a huge treble hook, & a LONG handled net to catch the crabs just under the surface, just as the start to fall off of the bait!
MAN, what a ball.
Fresh blues, a huge standing rib roast,,, & a MAGNUM or TWO of Brawny Port wine!
lol,,, thanks for the 'flash-back'! ;>)
& GOOD LUCK!
Show us some pics!?


----------



## ski (May 13, 2004)

Got good info on party boats out of Ft Meyers beach area. Cheap and you need to bring nothing. Plan on fishing off our dock and maybe taking one of those head boats.

ski


----------



## ski (May 13, 2004)

Richman said:


> If you don’t want to charter.....go on Google maps and pick out several passes that have access to the gulf. Go to a local bait and tackle and pick up a bait called a Montes jigging spoon (pink). Put them on 8 pound spinning gear and rip em up off the bottom let em flutter down and repeat....and hang on.
> Passes should have ample trout, snook, pompano, and jacks right now. Watch the tides so you have ample current incoming or outgoing. Enjoy
> 
> Good luck
> ...


Thanks,
I'll pick up a few of those spoons for sure!!


----------



## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

if you can get a few pin fish and keep them alive with an aerated bucket you can bottom fish it. you'll want 80# to 100# line on this rig. its good for grouper, redfish, and snook, they all can be caught in the channels. check with the bait shops for pins and shrimp. live shrimp on another rod with lighter line ( 30# or 40# braid) you can bottom fish them for everything that swims in saltwater.
sherman


----------



## ski (May 13, 2004)

Well, didn't even fish while down there!! A few were fishing on the beach and others were fishing at the pier. Didn't see one fish caught. I did drive to down to Big Carlos pass and that looked like a great place. Definitely will fish next time we go down. Sister's house is on a canal and looked promising when the tide came in. 
Thanks for all the advice.

While I was down there I looked for a large bait/tackle shop and surprisingly didn't find any. Did stop by one shop and it only had a few lures. Seemed to have a lot of live and frozen bait.
ski


----------



## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

ski said:


> Well, didn't even fish while down there!! A few were fishing on the beach and others were fishing at the pier. Didn't see one fish caught. I did drive to down to Big Carlos pass and that looked like a great place. Definitely will fish next time we go down. Sister's house is on a canal and looked promising when the tide came in.
> Thanks for all the advice.
> 
> While I was down there I looked for a large bait/tackle shop and surprisingly didn't find any. Did stop by one shop and it only had a few lures. Seemed to have a lot of live and frozen bait.
> ski


Live shrimp is all that you really need.


----------



## PatSea (Oct 10, 2004)

ski said:


> Well, didn't even fish while down there!! A few were fishing on the beach and others were fishing at the pier. Didn't see one fish caught. I did drive to down to Big Carlos pass and that looked like a great place. Definitely will fish next time we go down. Sister's house is on a canal and looked promising when the tide came in.
> Thanks for all the advice.
> 
> While I was down there I looked for a large bait/tackle shop and surprisingly didn't find any. Did stop by one shop and it only had a few lures. Seemed to have a lot of live and frozen bait.
> ski


ski, check out Fishin Franks in N. Ft Meyers. I haven't been to this location but I'm a regular at their original store in Port Charlotte when I'm down there in the winter. These guys are super helpful and have the best inventory I've seen anywhere in SWFL. First time I was going saltwater fishing I went in there and asked them what I needed to get started. I fully expected to walk out with $50 or more of tackle. He spent at least 45 minutes with me walking around the store trying to educate me and in the end suggested I keep it simple and I walked out with all the tackle I needed to get started for less than $20. Made a believer out of me! I won't go to any other tackle shop! They also hold monthly fishing seminars and have a weekly fishing radio show. These guys know how to treat a customer. No, I have no affiliation with this business.


----------



## Richman (Sep 1, 2007)

Ski.....if ya get back down there again check out the ACE Hardware stores they are like a Cabela’s for saltwater fishing.....good supplies and good up to date info.


----------



## ski (May 13, 2004)

Thanks! I'll check it out and find out how to fish with live shrimp. They had some at the small bait shop I was at.
ski


----------



## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Flathead76 said:


> Deadsticked DOA Shrimp is all that you really need.


Fixed that for you . I'll never forget the looks I got when I out fished the live bait (shrimp) guys with those lures. Guys just looking at me completely puzzled, then casting over me in desperation, all while I'm beating them on artificial's.


----------



## Gringo Loco (Mar 5, 2005)

ski said:


> Well, didn't even fish while down there!! A few were fishing on the beach and others were fishing at the pier. Didn't see one fish caught. I did drive to down to Big Carlos pass and that looked like a great place. Definitely will fish next time we go down. Sister's house is on a canal and looked promising when the tide came in.
> Thanks for all the advice.
> 
> While I was down there I looked for a large bait/tackle shop and surprisingly didn't find any. Did stop by one shop and it only had a few lures. Seemed to have a lot of live and frozen bait.
> ski


I am there January through March and fish the pier 2-3 times a week. If I don't catch a fish in the first hour I leave as they are not in. Sometimes they bite for a couple weeks and then just stop. I sometimes might catch 10 whiting or so that run 12-15 inches that make nice fillets in 2 to 3 hour fishing. When the sugar trout are in you can catch them two at a time and fill a five gallon bucket if you wish. Keepers are 7-9 inches and chunky. Their body is all meat and great to eat but you have to keep guard when you clean them as the pelicans love them. A lot of trout are caught off the pier but hard to catch a legal size one and also sheephead around the piers. Salt water sheephead are wanted and good to eat but tough to clean .No fishing license is required on the pier. There are many other species as well but they are not as plentiful.


----------



## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

Flathead76 said:


> Live shrimp is all that you really need.


live shrimp will catch anything that feeds in saltwater. but live pin fish is much better for big reds, grouper, and snook. some baid shops carry them at times. we use the sabiki rigs baited with small pieces of shrimp and catch our own pins.
sherman


----------



## Smallmouth Crazy (Apr 4, 2006)

Little late to this thread but the wife and I go to FMB at least once a year, I used catch em up charters one year while I was down there, he is located at the Get away Marina on San Carlos maybe 1-1 1/2 miles off the beach, we went on a shark charter, he just ran out off Sanibel and we used shrimp to catch our bait then went on from there, think it was $200 for 4hrs, I follow him on Facebook and see all sorts of pics of Grouper and fish that I don't even know what they are.


----------

