Estero Bay Fishing Report 08.11.10

The fishing in Southwest Florida has been great the past week despite very warm air and water temperatures and the formation of Tropical Depression number 5. As a matter of fact, the formation of the low pressure system seemed to really increase the bite quite a bit. On recent outings we’ve caught 10 to 15 slot redfish using live pinfish and small white baits along with dozens of snook. The trout are still biting on the grass flats but they seem to like the artificials baits better than the real stuff. We’ve been using Gulp! Shrimp and D.O.A. Shrimp with great success. The passes are holding a mixed bag of snapper, ladyfish, jacks, pompano, bluefish and spanish mackerel along with bonnethead and blacktip sharks. Trips to backcountry creeks have produced a number of 10 to 20 pound tarpon using live bait, artificials and flies.