Charlotte Harbor is a 270 square miles of estuary with 15 boat ramps. There’s tons of productive water to fish. Yes, there’s lots of dirty water in Pine Island Sound but the rest of the Harbor and Gasparilla Sound has good clarity. Red tide has been moving in and out of the passes but with all the fresh water around it has not been an issue in the Harbor. The best fishing this week will be along the East and West Walls and in Bull and Turtle Bays.
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Bait the fish are feeding on: pinfish, ladyfish, shrimp, crabs
Species to fish for this week: Redfish, Spotted Seatrout, Bluefish, Jacks, Ladyfish, Snook
Fishing Tactics: Sight fishing is limited to araes near the Sound do to lots of fresh water in the Bay. There's plenty of good blind casting action though. Fish the deep holes around the mangrove islands for trout and redfish. The Snook will be around or on the sand flats.
My fly fishing tip of the week: Murky water is a way of life on the Harbor after heavy rains. Embrace it, the fish are there and they will eat. Fish with bulky and brightly colored flies.
My spin fishing tip of the week: Downsize your lures, especially if your fishing jigs with soft plastic tails. We’ve been getting a lot of bumps and short strikes on larger baits.
7 day outlook: Seasonal temps early in the week. We’ll have some showers Tuesday and Wednesday. A cold front will move through late in the week. Most of the action will be Redfish and Trout with few snook mixed in.
