Submitted

Nick Zerbi holds a 17- pound bull redfish he caught while fishing with his father Paul aboard Capt. Stacy Melondorf's boat. Note the one spot on it's tail.

Submitted

Justin Ryder, of Hingham, Mass., holding a 37-inch 15-pound snook he caught while fishing with hid father Ken, aboard Marco Capt. Allen Chamberlain's boat.

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Walter Henkels holds a redfish laced with black spots he caught while fishing with the late Captain Ralph Doxsee standing at his cleaning table on Nov. 4, 1982. Anyone out there know the name of the gentleman standing next to Doxsee?

Please note in my Jan. 30 article had the opening of snook season wrong. Snook season opens March 1 not Feb. 1. No excuses, I just screwed up and read the rules wrong, sorry about that.

Now the good news, it looks like the last half of February the weather could treat us a little kinder with fewer and less intense cold fronts. If it plays out like this we should see the inland, passes, outer shoreline and flats get more productive with species such as tarpon, snook and redfish getting more frisky.

There were some productive fishing reports turned in, in spite of the cold weather, however.

Marco Captain Allen Chamberlain of Sea Gone Fishing Team writes in part; Good morning Red, here is a picture of Justin Ryder holding a 37-inch, 15-pound snook he caught using live bait. He and his father Ken are from Hingham, Mass. They also caught some nice size sheepshead and trout. All of the fish were released.

Thanks for the picture Allen. You may contact him at (239)642-7310.

Marco angler Dr. Paul G. Zerbi visited with me the other day. He arrived with a big smile and great picture of his son Nick holding a 17 pound bull redfish that he caught and released while fishing with Captain Stacy Melondorf. The redfish shows only one black dot on one side unlike the redfish Larry Paladino caught that was laced with black dots.

That picture spawned some questions from several anglers including Larry. Have you ever seen a redfish with so many dots? My answer was yes and, as a matter of fact, I have several pictures of redfish with lots of spots in my file. One of which has angler Walter Henkels holding a 3 pound redfish loaded with them. It is dated Nov. 3, 1982, and shows the late Captain Ralph Doxsee standing at his cleaning table.

Another angler Joe writes, I am new to this area, have a small pontoon boat and walk the beach often. I would love to catch a snook, can you give me some idea where to go, what to use and any other information you may have that would be helpful. Thinking of fishing the inland waters near Goodland.

First of all Joe, while snook season does not open until March 1 you can still catch and release them. I would use jigs tipped with fresh shrimp. You do not need to use the whole shrimp. I like to cut some of them up, put them in a plastic bag and put them on ice along with some of the live ones. Fishing the inland waters is a moving game. You find a spot you like, move in slowly and as quiet as you can by slipping the anchor over the side, letting the current take the boat until the anchor hangs and set it.

If I don’t see any action near the surface I like to work the jig slowly. This keeps it on or near the bottom. Cast the same spot several times, no hits? I return the jig a little faster keeping it off the bottom. Still no hits? Return the jig faster. When you have fish that are at all depths with various rates of returns and still no action, vary your cast about 10 or 15 feet away from the first series of casts. Still no action? Move to another spot. I like a strong current.

The advantage of jigs is it increases your number of species that will hit it including sheepshead, black drum, redfish, pompano, mangrove snapper and of course snook. The species just listed have an excellent food value. Add some jack, bluerunner, ladyfish and small sharks and you have a great shot at some great fishing.

You say you walk the beach often. Begin to keep a keen eye on the water as the closer we get to March the sooner we should see more bait moving in followed with the larger predators that include most of the species listed above. I do not know what time of day you are walking, but always have a pair of sunglasses with Polaroid lenses as they will give you an added edge to see the bait and fish. If you are walking and wading the beach with your fishing rod rigged with jig or lure and see a snook cruising, cast in front of the fish, let it set for a few seconds and begin to retrieve it. If the fish begins to follow the bait, keep retrieving it until the snook hits it or you lift the bait out of the water.

Early morning and late afternoon seems to be the best times to fish the beach. Last but not least, never have a fish stringer tied to your belt as there are larger predator that will try to take your catch away from you and just might get a bite of you instead. Please let us know how you do.

Our near and offshore fishing could continue to offer anglers some cobia, amberjack, Spanish mackerel, kingfish, shark and barracuda near the surface during the warmer mid day hours. They will be looking for your live or fresh cut bait such as pinfish, small jacks, bluerunner, mullet and ladyfish. These species will also join the grouper and snapper closer to the bottom. Take a shot at them and then move back to the near surface of the water.

Trolling spoons, deep running lures and large jigs on the way out and from your honey hole could add some nice size fish to the cooler.

Not much to report on the saltwater fish hatchery for Collier County movement. I have been told it will take about 10 acres for each site and the land will have to be donated or leased for a period of 30 years. I am still thinking positive and believe we have a shot at it. Keep the drums beating!

Catch you later.

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

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