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Water LIFE
MAGAZINE
Dark Side
September
2008
Night Fishing Offshore
By Capt. Stev e Skev i ng to n Water LIFE Offshore When most boats are heading back into the dock from a long hard day of fishing we’re heading out into the Gulf. Our day has just begun, it’s 6 p.m., night fishing in southwest Florida is one of the best kept secrets in the fishing world. Snapper fishing, and shark fishing – night fishing off Fort Myers offers a great deal of opportunity for species that are nocturnal feeders and just don’t bite as well during the day. For yellowtail snapper, we are using real light tackle with 10-15 pound test line. Yellowtails aren't really big fish. They range in size from 1-3 pounds and occasionally bigger. We like to use a small hook, 2/0 being about the biggest, but I prefer smaller. Fresh bait is a must. Yellowtails love cut baits such as sardines, shrimp and squid. They also love to eat cut ballyhoo chunks, whole live greenbacks and even artificial jigs. The fresher your bait, the better your chances are for them to eat your hook, instead of the guy fishing next to you. Don’t use too big a chunk or it is difficult for them to get it into their mouth. Light line and light lead (1/4 ounce lead sinkers are usually more than enough weight) are what you want to use for yellowtail. You basically want to drift your line back in the current with the chum, as if your bait was a piece that came out of the chum bag naturally. They are mid-depth feeders when your chumming so you don’t have to be all the way down to the bottom. You just have to be in the chum trail. Yellowtails hit hard, so you’ll know when you get a bite from one and you’ll be able to tell it’s a yellowtail when you’re fighting him. Yellowtails are a blast to catch, and when you get into a school of them, you can catch them one right after another. They are both a ton of fun to catch and DELICIOUS! Mangrove snapper live in shallow water, sometimes in only 1-to 2-feet of water around the mangrove trees in the shallows. They also live around the pilings of docks, piers and bridges. We catch
the ones out in the gulf on the wrecks and the reefs. You fish for mangroves a lot like yellowtails, same types of baits work for them as well. Live shrimp is a great bait to use for mangrove snapper fishing. With light tackle you will get the best bite, but sometimes they get pretty big and will eat larger baits as well. Whenever your catching yellowtails, there are probably some big mangrove snappers lurking nearby, so be ready to catch them. Occasionally we catch a few other fish while on our night time fishing trips. Cobias, that migrate through the Fort Myers area in the fall and winter months, aren't’t caught every night trip, but we do catch a pretty fair amount of them. Cobia swim in schools and when you catch one, be ready because there very well may be a few other nice cobias swimming with him. Cobias are excellent eating, and make great sushi or steaks on the grill. You usually catch one when you least expect it, so you never know when one may jump on the line, and make your night! Groupers are another fish you can catch when snapper fishing offshore. They live on the bottom in the reefs and typically swim and eat with the snapper. Gag grouper, red groupers and scamp groupers are the species we most commonly catch out of southwest Florida. Groupers are notorious for eating your bait and then swimming right back into their hole to digest their meal. Once they get back in their hole, the chances of you getting him out without breaking the line are slim to none. That’s why, with grouper fishing, you have to get him off the bottom as soon as you hook him. If you think you may have a grouper on the line, put a little extra drag on the line and make him or break him right off the bat. If you can get him off the bottom just a bit, then loosen your drag slightly and fight him up. Give it a shot, you may like the Dark Side of fishing. Capt Stev e can be reached for charter at (941) 575-3528 or at www.paradisefishingcharters.com