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January 13 fishing report from Byron Stout

January 17, 2023 by Molly Brenneman

  • Michigander Owen Griffith used a live wild shiner to catch his trophy 8-1/2-pound bass in the bottom area of ​​Lake Okeechobee Bay on his trip with Capt. Jose Betancourt of Roland Martin Marina & Resort.
  • Karen Theis used a frozen sardine to catch and release a male southern stingray under the Big Carlos Pass Bridge this Sunday.
  • West Bay Club angler Bruce Churton used a shrimp and prawn combo to tempt this 25-inch black drum on his Get Hooked Charter to Big Hickory Pass with Capt. Matt DeAngelis.
  • T-shirt weather and big snook were two big reasons for Drew and Jack Batten not to miss coming home to Michigan. They were fishing with Capt. Matt DeAngelis of Get Hooked near Mound Key in Estero Bay.
  • James Stout fished more than a dozen spots to turn a slow grouper bite into a big hit Tuesday, with friend Johnny Blauvelt and uncles David and Byron.
  • Off-season amberjacks like Johnny Blauvelt’s were so aggressive, on an offshore ledge in 97 feet of water, his friend James Stout made the call to leave, in search of keeper species.
  • Kelsey Dodd, Johnny Blauvelt and James Stout (not pictured) caught their limits of red grouper in 30 minutes on a hot Sunday in 105 feet of water.
  • Crestview angler David Stout’s Big Red provided some great grouper therapy Tuesday, fishing with his nephew, James.
  • Byron Stout’s mango was soon to be joined by a slew of siblings, including lane and vermilion snappers caught Tuesday with his nephew, James. in 95 feet of water west of Sanibel.
  • The fishing has been as good as the weather, which will turn cold from Friday the 13th. Which isn’t all bad.

    Sheepshead love a good winter front, as do Lake Trafford crappie, and snook will be piling into warmer channels to await the warm-up, starting Monday 16th.

    – SEND YOUR PHOTOS TO BYRON STOUT

    Offshore fishing won’t change much, but a small craft advisory through Saturday will put the brakes on boating.

    ESTERO BAY: Get Hooked Charters anglers with Capt. Matt DeAngelis had some nice catches late last week. Drew and Jack Batten used cut baits to catch and release a slot snook on Mound Key last Thursday, and last Friday West Bay Club angler Bruce Churton caught a slot black drum, still a tasty 25 inches, for one species. which can grow to over 90 pounds.

    T-shirt weather and big snook were two big reasons for Drew and Jack Batten not to miss coming home to Michigan. They were fishing with Capt. Matt DeAngelis of Get Hooked near Mound Key in Estero Bay.

    Frequent contributor Karen Theis used her favorite bait, a frozen sardine, to catch and (carefully) release a male southern stingray under the Big Carlos Pass Bridge Sunday.

    Sanibel: Lehr’s Economy Tackle reports a catch of 13 sheep to 17 inches by a boater fishing a pile of debris on the gulf side of the B Span in the Sanibel Causeway.

    CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER: Mike Westra of Lehr’s had conversations with two anglers who reported catching some very large bass (FWC stocked female white bass and male striped bass hybrids) at Ortona Lock, where a few roach were also biting. Both anglers reported that the regular ounce-plus rigs favored by lock anglers on the river were mostly ignored in favor of smaller 3-inch paddle tails, including No Live Bait Needed, which were a better match for the small shade of the surroundings. One of the anglers and his two sons landed over a dozen soles at Ortona, caught a small snook at Olga’s WP Franklin Lock and landed two large ones and a nice bass at Moore Haven Lock.

    PINE ISLAND: Capt. Gregg McKee of Wildfly Charters reports that the slow morning tides didn’t slow the trout bite on the grass flats of Matlacha Pass, when you could get bait over the ladyfish, which “are becoming a problem. Absolutely everywhere in the northern part of Matlacha Pass.” The shores have also held some big redfish, and the less than calm waters also kept the baby tarpon from rolling, back in the creeks, blind casting was good in the evenings. Not so good were the unseasonal, though invisible, clouds of noseeums (juvenile biting flies).

    PORT OF CHARLOTTE: Lehr reports an angler named Chick had a great day casting pearl/blue Z-Man Minnowz at Bokeelia Bar and near an oyster bar in North Harbor. He caught a mix of about 70 trout and redfish. The reds were on the low end of the 18- to 27-inch slot, and some of the more plentiful trout were as large as 20 inches.

    OFFSHORE: North Fort Myers angler James Stout had productive trips in depths between 95 and 105 feet west of Sanibel on Sunday with friends Kelsey Dodd and Johnny Blauvelt, and on Tuesday with friend Johnny and uncles David and Byron .

    James Stout fished more than a dozen spots to turn a slow grouper bite into a big hit Tuesday, with friend Johnny Blauvelt and uncles David and Byron.

    Sunday’s trip in 100 to 105 feet was good for limits of red grouper and 21 mangrove, rail and red snapper. On Tuesday, four waning days after the full moon, the bite was a little slower, but still good for five grouper, lots of mixed snapper, and casting of two 30-pound-larger shores. Groupers were caught on fresh cut baits and Shimano Flat-Fall rigs, and most of the snapper were caught on live sardines in the Sanibel Causeway.

    Lehr London and Charlie Rothwell and Dave Voll of North Fort Myers reported catching “about a dozen” red grouper to 28 inches on slow-moving jigs last week, fishing New Pass.

    FRESH WATER

    LAKE TRAFFORD: “Pretty much everyone is just cutting to the chase,” according to Lake Trafford Marina manager Sharon Turrubiaters. The specks have moved into the shoreline vegetation and are a very nice size, 9 to 11 inches. So far, most have been males and most anglers have been baiting with Missouri rigs, although the machines have also worked well. Anglers fishing from the pier and shores of Ann Olesky Park have been catching a few fish and a few bluegill, but nowhere near the pace of the boaters.

    LAKE OKEECHOBEE: Roland Martin Marina & Resort Capt. Jose Betancourt reports good bass fishing up to 8-1/2 pounds in Bay Bottom and South Bay on the south end of the lake and along the north shore from Horse Island to Tin House Cove. Bright live wild bream are the gold standard, but “with the cool weather, you can cast your favorite topwater all day long.” Black and blue chatterbaits, crankbaits and topwaters have produced the biggest bass, but Senkos, Speed ​​Worms and swimbaits run around the grass areas have also been productive.

    Michigander Owen Griffith used a live wild shiner to catch his trophy 8-1/2-pound bass in the bottom area of ​​Lake Okeechobee Bay on his trip with Capt. Jose Betancourt of Roland Martin Marina & Resort.

    “The pinch bite continues to be great.” The outside of the lily pads along the Rim Canal just south of Clewiston, the Monkey Box in the Western Marsh, the Harney Pond Canal in Lakeport and the Kissimmee River have been hot spots, with fish and whiting making the best work

    PHOTO OF THE WEEK

    The red grouper season is off to a strong start.

    Crestview angler David Stout’s Big Red provided some great grouper therapy Tuesday, fishing with his nephew, James.

    FISH TIP

    On a big day offshore, after putting limits of red grouper in the box, the fishing doesn’t have to end if light tackle and natural bait are on board. Snapper fishing, including lanes, mangroves and vermilions, can add a lot of fun and fillets to the trip, bottom fishing with a dropper rig and circle hooks around 1/0.

    Byron Stout’s mango was soon to be joined by a slew of siblings, including lane and vermilion snappers caught Tuesday with his nephew, James. in 95 feet of water west of Sanibel.

    Dropper rigs are easily made by tying a loop of light leader about 15 inches long and cutting the loop off-center. Tie a 1- to 2-ounce dipsey or bank feather to the long end, so the baited hook is free to hang just above the bottom. Live or cut sardines, live or frozen shrimp or cut squid are great baits. Simply reel to set the hook after you feel a bite and put the live snapper on ice immediately, for the whitest fillets.

    HOT POINTS

    No. 1: Northern Matlacha Pass for high-flying ladybug fun.
    No. 2: Bokeelia Bar for trout and blacks.
    No. 3: Sanibel Causeway bridges for sheepshead.
    No.4: Black drum and sheep in Estero Bay.
    No. 5: Snook in the canals during the cold season.
    No. 6: Offshore for red grouper and mixed snapper.
    No. 7: Ortona Lock for sunshine bass.

    Lake OKEECHOBEE

    No. 1: The Kissimmee River for shit.
    No. 2: North Shore for bass.
    No. 3: Harney Pond Canal for shit.
    No. 4: Monkey box for stonemasons.
    No. 5: Rim Canal for shit.
    No. 6: Bay Bottom and South Bay for bass.

    Filed Under: Fishing Reports

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