Saltwater fishing in Fort Myers, Florida

[nvs4602]

I have never been Saltwater fishing. And trying to decide if it's worth the money to buy the license and fishing accessories. We will fishing of the dock at the San Carlos rv park. I have no ideas as to what size hooks to buy. I was told to bring 20lb braided line. Any input on what I need to catch the big ones.

[Onyrlef]

Originally Posted by nvs4602

I have never been Saltwater fishing. And trying to decide if it's worth the money to buy the license and fishing accessories. We will fishing of the dock at the San Carlos rv park. I have no ideas as to what size hooks to buy. I was told to bring 20lb braided line. Any input on what I need to catch the big ones.

Best answer for that will come from a local, as in a tackle shop, or if there’s a city or county pier go out there, the locals love talking fishing.

[magicbus]

You don’t need and special gear, and braided line isn’t necessary when fishing from a dock. You should use circle hooks for easy release of fish you aren’t going to eat and probably small shrimp for bait. Whether it is worth the price of the license is a question of the enjoyment you get. As mentioned above, check with a local shop for hooks and bait.

[SoonToBeFT]

We used to have a house in Sarasota Fla and hubby used to go down for 5 to 9 weeks at a time and fish his heart out at Venice pier almost every day and twice a day sometimes. Personally we found Fla annual saltwater and fresh water licenses a really good price compared to many states/provinces we've travelled to. However, you might want to check into whether you need a fishing license when finishing from a "pier"!!! Some places you don't IIRC.

As for what equipment you need depends on what's biting at time you are there. Usually a couple lures to match the fish you are targeting, sometimes some shrimp or squid. Line strength and hook sizes to again match what you are targeting.

Hubby tended to do sunrise to get his bait fish for night time Shark fishing with them typically. He'd use a SC Rig to get his mackerel when running or lady fish that like to shake off quick. He catches drum with mini crabs, pompano, flounder, rays, catfish, snappers near rock outcrops and a myriad of other fish so yes you will thoroughly enjoy saltwater fishing in the Gulf especially if someone is with you that's passionate about it also.

Maybe go down to the area you want to fish and talk to the locals first to see what's biting and what they use (bait shops will sell you a lot of stuff you'll never use otherwise!).

Hubby is a real avid fisherman, to the point he has collected 12+ rods and 4 huge tote boxes/bags of accessories!! He probably uses less than 5% of most of it, and would have a ton more if it wasn't for wifey cramping his style somewhat LOL Skyway bridge, shore fishing at Turtle Beach and others, Seadoo and Kayak fishing at times to entertain me for something different than as I say watching paint dry! Lake Okeechobee here and there, and various other places on that coast side.

Be warned, like most hobbies you can end up spending a fortune on a lot of stuff you'll never use hardly or even open, based on input from many over time.

We even have salmon fishing accessories "just in case" LOL.

Good luck, fishing can be a lot of fun, and the variety of ocean fish is awesome, but it'd be cheaper to buy supper says the woman of the house

Hope the above helps somewhat in your thoughts. ENJOY!

[Bobby F]

Really, no one goes fishing for the food. Figure $200/pound by the time you're done.

Best bait in that area is shrimp. Hook it in and out through the back shell. You will lose them quickly. Heavy sinker 2 feet away, let it sit on the bottom. I usually do better along the shore than from the docks, esp if I can find a drop-off. Sheepsheads, trout, maybe a ray. I always figured that, if 20-lb line won't handle it, I didn't want to try and land it anyway. If you can get onto some of the small saltwater channels behind, you might do better.

[SoonToBeFT]

Yep we've caught some beautiful Red Fish and Snook in the salt water channels that lead out to the bay and then gulf. Heck we've even hooked into grouper off the Jetties.

Go enjoy, you'll have a blast. Talk to the locals and you'll know what best to do.

[jacwjames]

Originally Posted by Onyrlef

Best answer for that will come from a local, as in a tackle shop, or if there’s a city or county pier go out there, the locals love talking fishing.

This is good advise, go to a local bait store and start asking questions. Most of the time either the owner or customers will be willing to help. Don't go crazy, it's not rocket science.

Most of the time good luck is weather related, tide conditions etc.

Last time I went out fishing in Steamhatchy the other two guys were into fishing big time, different poles and tackle. I just picked an artifical bait I thought would work and caught four times as many fish as the others combined.

[outlawten5]

We currently have red tide. I would'nt eat anything you catch

[nvs4602]

Thanks for the replies. I'll throw a couple poles in and buy what else I need when we get there next week.

[Bobby F]

Remember: hose down your reels to get the saltwater out when you stop for the day. If you have freshwater gear, it rusts fast.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by nvs4602

I have never been Saltwater fishing. And trying to decide if it's worth the money to buy the license and fishing accessories. We will fishing of the dock at the San Carlos rv park. I have no ideas as to what size hooks to buy. I was told to bring 20lb braided line. Any input on what I need to catch the big ones.

Sadly, no you won't be fishing from the pier. The entire pier is being replaced. Ian destroyed the Island. live webcam:
https://www.webcamtaxi.com/en/usa/fl...ers-beach.html

[outlawten5]

Again. Our water is extremely contaminated. Fecal matter, red tide and a man on the news was contaminated with fibrio which is a flesh eating bacteria. He just had water splash on him.