9/3/09 yet another day at beautiful bonita beach

[JSG2891]

I love this place..just south of ft. myers beach and the water is much cleaner due to it being further from the river, just a few more miles makes all the difference. Anyways here is yet another report of this place..i gotta start hitting up some other spots more often to let you guys know what is going on elsewhere down here.

Anyways the reason I am so into this spot is because of its close proximity to a pass..i love fishing beaches right near passes..it seems as if tarpon hang out and congretate in these areas just off the shore from 30-100 yards. sometimes even closer to shore depending how close to shore the water starts getting deeper..but this is only in my experience and i am no expert, this is my first year back into it after many years off from fishing regularly.

i got there at about 9 and planned to fish the last few hours of rising tide and the first few hours of falling tide as usual. it was the day of the full moon and i have heard that full moon is good, full moon is bad..but 1 thing i always hear consistantly is that the days right before and after full moon are premium times to fish. but i thought i would give it a try despite hearing conflicting information about fishing they day of the full moon..as i first arrived on the spot i like to fish, there was a boat that was about 30-40 yards out..i figured oh well i'll just fish the shoreline for snook for now, they'll be gone eventually so i can get my big baits out there..so i cast netted some greenbacks (bait was real thick) and i handpicked the biggest ones for snook, and kept a few medium sized ones to hopefully catch some ladyfish, mackerel, or smaller jack crevelle to use as cut bait for my main target as always and perhaps the most beautiful of all creatures in the world, the silver king, sabalo, pka the tarpon. as i was working the shoreline for snook, that boat that was out there krept right up on the area i was casting to...they pulled their boat up within spitting distance of the snook i was casting to..this caused the pod of about 20-30 snook to scatter..you can spook these guys just by walking too close to them on land so a boat right on them is not going to help..i didn't really care because the snook weren't biting at that time..when they are turned on your bait doesn't sit very long before one of them slurps it down and today was not going to be one of those days evidently..anyways, the idiots in the boat moved on so i cut the head and tail finoff a frozen ladyfish i brought along, ran a #7 eagle claw lazer sharp circle hook through the tail, and chunked it out about 120 feet to the deeper water on my heavier conventional gear. i don't remember if it was right before or after i chunked that ladyfish out there but i saw a big tarpon roll just beyond where my bait had landed! this got me fired up for sure. i continued to work closer to the shoreline for snook and they were not interested in eating at all so i concentrated on trying to get something to use as cut bait and not even the ladyfish or catfish were biting...the current was drifting my bigger bait just like i wanted it to and i had it on freespool..but after a while it begins to drift parallel to shore..about an hour and a half to two hours and a few casts and bait changes later..my spool started turning rapidly!! i picked it up out of the pvc pipe and i let him take more line..i even did a 8-10 count instead of the usual 5 count i do..i wanted to make sure this fish ate the bait..i pointed my rod at the fish and began reeling...my line started moving FAST to the left, so fast it was causing a big wake! i knew what it was, exactly what i had come for and i started reeling and trying to put pressure on him to get that circle hook to latch on and hopefully embed itself..well just my luck after a short run my bait popped out of the fishes mouth, DARN! i let it sit for a moment and then reeled it in and the ladyfish head was still attatched..the back of its head and its gillplates were crushed!! i don't think that thefish ate the bait, despite me giving some extra time to let him eat..just above the shattered ladyfish skull was my circle hook, apparantly untouched by the fishes mouth. it had to have been a tarpon by the way it began to run, i'd recognize the way it made my line cause a wake anytime..i did end up getting a ladyfish which i ended up taking with me to freeze, and an older gentlemen snagged another by the tail on his mirrolure and he kindly donated his catch..i also caught a couple of giant pinfish, and only managd to get 2 snook to bite all day, losing them both! not a very good day..but it was just a hookset away from being a great day...hopefully next time i'll stick that tarpon right in one of the soft spots and hopefuly next time will be soon!

[PhishingPhanatic]

Great report, thanks.

[defrag]

nice report, youll get em next time. whats up with boats? they have the whole ocean and they want to crowd up on this guy in the surf lolol

[bolo]

West coast beach are beautiful and load with Snook. Better luck next time.

[one more cast]

I love this beach with incoming water in the mornings

[JSG2891]

I love this beach with incoming water in the mornings

so do i ..and not many people know what is out there where the water drops off