Cape Coral fishing?

[bassfshin24]

Any one ever done any fishing down in Cape Coral? I am heading down there in April for a week and would love to get out. Ive done a little research about kayak rentals and going after some redfish, snook, and whatever else. What's the normal bait that people use fishing from piers and shore around that area...shrimp maybe? Also heard there are freshwater canals there with largemouth in them as well. Any help would be awesome.

[eskay]

There can be some decent fishing in the canals around Cape Coral, the closer to the open water the better. April is a transition month, so you never know what you'll find. With the warm weather down there this year, the tarpon will probably show up a little early from the reports I'm getting. If you're looking for a kayak rental, head out to Matlacha, there are a few rental places that cater more to fishermen. Also a lot of bait shops on Matlacha, they can steer you in the right direction. You can fish the Pass or along the mangroves, or the pilings and docks for sheepshead.

Shrimp will catch anything and everything. If you don't want to mess around with everything picking at your bait, rapalas, mirrolures, chugging topwaters work good for snook, tarpon, redfish, sea trout. The game fish basically.

As far as bass, I don't know anything about that fishery. Again, the bait shops are your best bet for info.

I'm heading down to Pine Island early March for the month, then back home for April, and back down for tarpon in May. I'll have a better idea of the fishing conditions when I get back.

Good Luck.

[bassfshin24]

Thanks for the info...I really appreciate it. This will be my first saltwater experience so I'm pretty excited about it!

[tunrevir]

Simple setups like a 1/4-1/2 oz egg sinker above a barrel swivel with a 12-18" leader and a stainless steel octupus hook are good for soaking shrimp. I make my leaders with berkley wire leader material and pre rig the hooks. You just make a half dozen twists and heat the nylon coating lightly and it adheres to itself. You can use heavier mono as well, but you will need to check your leader frequently if sheepshead are present as they will nick it pretty easily.

You have to set the hook on the taps as the fish will be off with your bait in no time if it is sheepshead. Redfish, snook, blackdrum, cobia and tarpon will all take the bait and run and are easier to discern when they bite. Top waters work well for snook, tarpon, sea trout and redfish like was mentioned. We have had good luck fishing fiddler crabs as well. Look to some of the pass areas when the tide is coming in or out and you can fish 1/4-3/8th oz yellow or white bucktail jigs tipped with a small piece of shrimp for pompano and spanish mackeral which are both great table fare. Simple cast the jig out and slowly retrieve it using slow lifts and falls but never letting the jig drag along the bottom. The key here is to find the cuts(deeper water areas. Mangroves and oyster beds will hold snook, redfish and possibly tarpon with a good shot at some sheepshead and maybe even a lane snapper or grunt. The pier areas and bridge pilings will hold different types of the afforementioned fish as well with the primary fish being sheepshead. There are bass and bluegills in the freshwater canals that will fall for most bass and panfish presentations and you may even come across some cyclids(oscars) in certain areas. We fish for those using wadded up white bread on a aberdeen hook or with red worms like bluegills but no bobber.

If you are going to use any tackle from home or rods or reels be sure to wash them thoroughly after Each use with freshwater and then spray them down with WD40 to prevent the metal parts from corrosion. Don't forget to also washdown the metal eyelets on your rods and any baits and spray them as well! The salt can raise big problems with any metal parts if not cleaned thoroughly after each use!

Tunrevir~

[Bigbartguy]

Lots of info here. Now youve got me thinking about salt fishing!