Red Stier/Special to the Eagle

Fran & Don Schweiss of Wisconsin holding their redfish they caught while fishing in the back waters with Captain Allen Chamberlain Of Sea Gone Fishing Team.

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Southwest Florida anglers should be in a much better mood now that April has arrived. Warmer weather means warmer water that should improve the fishing and catching on most all fishing fronts.

April and May used to be the two attractive months for anglers from the north to plan their fishing trips. While there are still a bunch of anglers who come in May, many take their shot in April due to the fact month five has been added snook closed season – which reopens Aug. 1.

An email just in from angler Philip Vinson of Westerville, Ohio: He writes in parts; Mr. Stier, I love reading your updates! I go to Marco a few times a year to fish with my friends and family. My three buddies and I are headed down April 7-13 and were wondering if there is a good resource for finding fishing spots. We have a few charts that has helped in the past but our boat is only good enough to go out five miles on a calm day. It seems every time we try backwater fishing my dad’s boat runs aground. I would appreciate any help.

Thanks for the email Philip. I’m not sure what charts you have but the two I featured a few weeks ago should be of some help. Chart F101 and 11430 should help you stay in the deeper water when fishing the inland and outer shoreline waters.

These two areas should have increased in their numbers of bait which should in turn attract a nice selection of species including more and larger snook and tarpon. While redfish will remain on the scene they will or already have decreased in their numbers and average size. Add some trout, pompano, mangrove snapper, ladyfish and shark and you should find some nice action.

Making sure the anglers are using different colored jigs will give you an added edge to find out what they are after that day. If there is no action after 20 to 30 minutes, I would move to another spot. That’s not saying you should not hit the other spot on the way back.

Game plan number one for fishing the outer shoreline and inland waters from Coon Key area south during the incoming tide then working up into the back waters during the last half of the incoming and hitting some spots on the way back out should be productive. Do not forget, while tipped jigs will be the most used, lures, spoons and live bait will also work well.

Game plan number two for fishing the nearshore waters from the beach out to 50 feet of water Chart 09F has a large number of fishing hot spots listed including some of the wrecks and fish havens. You can find tide charts at the local marinas and tackle shops.

I would plan to fish the early morning hours. Keep an eye out for any bait working on the surface as there should be some Spanish mackerel, bluerunner, bonito, ladyfish, jack and tarpon working it. Drifting into the bait with tipped jigs or trolling lures, spoons and larger jigs can also be productive. Be sure to have a recent copy of the Florida Rules & Regulations for recreational fishing and check your fishing license to see if it is up to date.

Using live bait including pinfish, grunt, shrimp and minnows at the fish havens and wrecks could harvest some nice size snook. It is a good bet many of them will be too large to keep.

As I am sure you already know fishing can be a moving game. Having two or three spots already picked out and moving on to another spot if things are slow is a must. They should be as close together as you can possible as it saves time and uses less fuel.

Last but not least I would suggest booking an offshore charter for one of the days you are here. You will increase your chances of catching keeper size grouper and snapper intermingled with some kingfish, amberjack and cobia. It will be a nice change of pace for everyone.

Reports of some nice size snook and redfish being caught have been turned in. One report put the anglers in the Marco area another one bragging about finding some nice redfish was south of Coon Key. It’s a good bet stalking the snook under the lights has picked up by the time you read this article.

Angles will use lures, jigs and live bait including pinfish, grunt, crabs and minnows. Being as stealth as you can is a must. A strong tide is also best. If it’s a high falling strong tide all the better as the current tends to wash the bait out with the fish right behind the bait.

If you are fishing from a dock or seawall and see a bunch of catfish under the light but can’t see any snook they are there, out away from the light in the shadows with additional snook laying deeper under the catfish. Casting live bait out away from the dock and retrieving it very slowly might work.

Casting a live shrimp or minnow up current and letting it sink as it drifts toward the light will put it deeper passing under the catfish but right on top of the snook will also work well.

Do not forget the camera. Feel free to share pictures with us.

Have a great week!

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Red Stier is a weekly contributor to the Marco Eagle. Questions or comments may be directed to redstier@aol.com or 172 Trinidad St., Naples, Fla., 34113.