Southwest Florida in August is a backcountry and pass fishery. The open flats have gone bathwater-warm by mid-morning and the fish have concentrated where the current runs — Gordon Pass, Big Marco, Caxambas and the creek mouths back in the Ten Thousand Islands. The new moon at the end of the week is going to move a lot of water, and that is the best news of the report.
What’s Hitting
Snook are the most reliable target, stacked in the passes and along the beaches on the moving tide. Harvest remains closed on the Gulf coast right now, so plan on catch-and-release. Mangrove snapper are thick on the dock lines, bridge pilings and nearshore structure. Redfish are holding at the backcountry creek mouths and around the oyster bars on the falling tide. Offshore, gag grouper and permit are on the nearshore wrecks in 40 to 70 feet, and the tarpon that were on the beaches in June are down to a few stragglers.
Where to Find Them
Gordon Pass, Doctors Pass and Big Marco Pass are the highest-percentage snook water on the outgoing. The backcountry creeks off the Marco River and into the Ten Thousand Islands hold redfish and juvenile tarpon. Dock lines along Naples Bay produce snapper and snook after dark. Nearshore wrecks and artificial reefs out of Gordon Pass are the grouper and permit structure.
Tides & Conditions
Inshore water is 87 to 90 degrees, nearshore mid-80s. New-moon tides bring a hard outgoing through the passes, which is when the snook feed. Afternoon storms have been firing daily off the interior and rolling west, so plan on being in by two. Backcountry water has been tannic and stained after the rain; the passes are cleaner.
Tackle & Tactics
Live pilchards and pinfish are the primary snook baits in the passes; a heavy bucktail or a swimbait on a half-ounce head covers the same water when bait is short. Use 30- to 40-pound fluorocarbon and expect to lose some fish in the rocks. Snapper want small live shrimp on 15- to 20-pound leader. Redfish in the creeks are eating cut ladyfish and weedless soft plastics on the falling water. For nearshore permit, a live crab on 30-pound fluorocarbon is the only bait that matters.
Local Intel This Week
Caxambas Park on Marco and the Collier Boulevard ramp are the practical launches for the backcountry and pass; Bayview Park handles Naples Bay and Gordon Pass. Shore anglers are catching snapper and snook off the Naples Pier at night. Fish are concentrating in the passes and creek mouths rather than on the open flats. Snook and redfish harvest rules on the Gulf coast change seasonally — check current FWC regulations before keeping any fish.
This Week’s Tip
In the passes, fish the seam, not the middle. Snook sit on the edge where the fast water meets the slack behind a point or a bar, waiting for bait to tumble out of the current. Cast up into the fast water and let the bait wash into the seam without drag.
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