Offshore Ft Meyers, FL

[Chico]

Our Friday departure aboard the Sea Trek had us all in anticipation of a great overnite snapper trip. After a 6 to 7 hour steam we arrived at the first stop just as the sun had set. It took a while for the bite to turn of, but when it did, we were all busy hauling fish over the rails. There were some decent mangroves as well as some HUGE porgies. Even though the three of us had managed to fill the livewell with over 6 dozen pinfish, the snapper and porgies were turned on by the shrimp baits. The pinfish almost guaranteed a nice Gag, all released. There were a few other odd fish that the pinfish attracted, including a nice king mac and a bonita. After a few hours the bite turned off and we moved a short distance away and it all started over again, mostly LARGE porgies, with some mangrove snapper as well as some lane snapper. We overstayed at this spot as the last hour was fruitless and the seas began to pick up with the wind. The third stop was a bit shallower and along with more BIG porgies, the main catch here were the lane snapper, not big ones, but most in the 13" to 15" size along with some yellowtail, most were under sized. Although the mangrove snapper were mostly in the 14" to 16" size, there were some bigger ones mixed in. When we got back to the dock, the catch was awesome, one of the better trips for the boat this season. I filled two medium sized coolers with the fish I caught. What was lacking in size for the snapper, was made up by the sheer quantity that we caught. A few guys did try jigging and often were met with a large hungry porgie or a snapper. Overall this was a great experience, with a great group of guys, and a good boat crew as well. If I get a chance, I will try to post pictures, with a busy day on Sunday and another charter on Monday, I am not sure when I will get the chance.