Submitted photo

Redfish were caught and released at the Calusa Yacht Club & Marina in Goodland Boat Ramp.

Submitted photo

Left to right are Rhett Peterson, center, Kyle Giampaori and Wright Taylor, all members of the Coastal Conversation Association Naples/ Collier chapter. They are holding two redfish they caught and released at the Calusa Yacht Club & Marina in Goodland Boat Ramp during the CCA Monthly fishing tournament.

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Southwest Florida nearshore anglers continued to fish with some success between the cold fronts finding Spanish mackerel intermingled with species including trout, bonito, jack and ladyfish. It is a good bet this weekend could be the beginning of better times for them if no more cold fronts arrive.

As I have said before March can be a windy but warmer month that should set the stage for increased numbers of patches of bait.

Trolling spoons, large jigs and deep running lures on the way out, over the wrecks and fish havens should be productive. Drift over the bait with tipped jigs or live bait such as pinfish and live minnows. Using small bluerunner, jack and ladyfish will attract the larger species including shark, snook, amberjack and just maybe kingfish.

We will be finding increased numbers of mackerel and kingfish if we get a continuing warming of the water temperature.

Getting another bait out close to the hooked fish might start a chain of non stop fishing.

Offshore from 60 feet of water out, grouper grabbing will remain about the same with a ratio of 20 to 30 undersized grouper caught and released to one keeper. Anglers using live bait and going deeper will have a little better catch and keep ratio.

Our inland, outer shoreline and passes should continue to offer us some nice selection of species including snook, redfish, pompano, ladyfish, mangrove snapper and smaller shark.

Fishing is looking good for March with the last half the best on all fronts.

I get many questions about how grouper grabbing now compares to years ago and what can we do to bring it back. We moved from Naples to the Isles of Capri about 35 years ago. All you had to do is go to about 30/40 feet of water and drift fish or put an anchor drag out.

The drag was made of a 3 to 4 foot pipe with three chains spaced about a foot apart attached to it. It was set out on a short scope so it would drag along the bottom. You could tell when you were over some hard bottom with some profile when the fish started to hit.

You would have all the grouper you wanted in two or three hours. Many time the Spanish mackerel were also abundant at the same time. That is how it was. Now what can be done to bring some of it back? I really believe help will be on its way for nearshore fishing with many more fish havens being built from one to ten miles out and half of them closed to the taking of any marine life. They should continue to be non polluting solid concrete waste. The kicker is it will also increase the life span of the landfill.

I don’t have to get into the past with our shoreline, passes and inland waters. We all know it used to be fantastic and if we have any chance of bringing it back for the future we all must make some hard decisions that include catch and release areas only. I truly believe the fish in the catch and release areas will produce a surplus of number of fish and they will move out to areas not closed to keeping them.

Last but not least, here comes the drum roll again, we need fish, saltwater fish now, not after a long drawn out study. The technology is already available for successful hatcheries.

Bryan Fluech, Collier County Sea Grant Agent writes in part, “Hi, everyone! This is the time of year where we see lots of pelican injuries and deaths due to discarded fishing line and other fishing gear. Recently, I hosted a pelican rescue techniques workshop with the help of the Conservancy of SW Florida’s Rehab Clinic.

“The purpose of the workshop was to educate volunteers about proper rescue techniques involving pelicans injured from fishing gear.

“I can come speak to you about proper techniques and some of the issues surrounding this topic. The presentation also goes over an introduction to the life history of brown pelicans, local population trends, current issues with fishing gear and entanglement and finally steps anglers can take to reduce their impacts on these birds.

If you have any questions, please contact me at Rookery Bay, 300 Tower Road, Naples, FL 34113-8059. Voice 417-6310 ext 225, Fax 417-6315, Cell 438-5594.”

I emailed Bryan asking him if he had any number on pelicans killed. He did not but Ted Below did. Here is what he emailed Bryan and I.

“Lost quite a bit of data on this with a hard disk crash in 1997 but from 1998 to present I have recorded 101 dead from fish line. Ted Below.”

I will try to have more about this next week.

Do not forget the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council public forum in Naples next month to solicit input on proposed changes to the gag and red grouper fishery. It will be held March 20 at the Comfort Inn, 3860 Tollgate Blvd., off exit 101, in Naples and will start at 6 p.m.

Have a great week!

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