I am excited to report that the 2023 Boat Show had record attendance during at least one of the 4 days at the Ft. Myers ‘Downtown Location’. Full of vendors and people excited about getting out during the beautiful weekend to enjoy the boats and products that are representative and reflected of SW Florida lifestyle. I had the opportunity to meet new people and reunite with my friends and past clients whom religiously attend my yearly fishing seminars. This year the seminars were very extensive focusing on ‘inshore’, ‘offshore’ and Tarpon. Each category had a thirty (30) minute session and was presented three times a day. All sessions included the basic, intermediate and advanced instruction together with ‘question and answer’ time.
Fishing has been really good with only a couple of exceptions after a cold front. We have had a couple of those unusually cold periods recently, but they have been short lived and things bounced back to normal fairly quickly. My only advice to those fishing grass flats for Seatrout on unusually cold days; is to ‘go out later and let things warm a bit’. A lot of Captains called me throughout the latter two months for advice on where the fish was due to lack of ‘bite’. The advice always; was to ‘go later in the day and quit around 3pm as things started to cool off again in the evening’.
The next few days of weather reports look really good for both ‘inshore and offshore’. Just be sure and go offshore on less windy days. The bite is good on both venues, however, the water levels ‘inshore’ have a lot to be desired, so focus on the passes and deeper areas around docks and piles. A lot more vessels are appearing on the water for fishing and recreational activity. There has been less fishing pressure up to now, but I suspect that will continue to escalate due to clean up of hurricane debris. Stay alert however, as there are still some tree limbs and branches in the shallows.
The next Bonita Boat Show will be held in Bonita Beach at the Grey Hound Race Track. I will be there giving seminars each day. This is a great venue to take the time to catch up on products and fishing skills (especially when the strong March winds blow preventing good boating and fishing winds). The show starts Thursday, March 02 and goes through Sunday, March 05. More to come on that on a future fishing report.
This is Captain Terry Fisher of Fish Face Charters, LLC. Check out my website at www.fishfacecharters.com. Email me at [email protected] or call direct at 239-357-6829 for an immediate response. I am also available as ‘Captain for Hire’ on your vessel (by the hour) for instructional including safety, boating, fishing techniques and locations to help insure you every trip is safe and a success.
by Captain Terry Fisher
