November fishing out of Chokoloskee & Everglades City

November is just about always my favorite month here fishing the Everglades National Park. My top reasons are that the daytime air temperatures will average in the low 80’s, water temperatures will drop to the mid to high 70’s, rainfall will drop to about 1.2” for the month, humidity is low, and schools of live bait enter the area and get the fish feeding.

The full moon this November falls on the 7^th and the new moon is on the 22^nd. Now is the time of year we really start to pay close attention to the tides, especially around the full and new moon. We will have extreme low tides the mornings of the 5^th-9^th and the 21^st-26^th. Do your research if fishing those days, as you may want to adjust your fishing times to avoid those negative low tides.

Looking at the moon phases, tides, and the Solunar calendar, I like what I see for peak bite times on the 6^th from 9am-11am, 7^th from 10am-12pm, the 21^st from 8:30am- 10:30am, and the 22^nd from 9:30am-11:30am. Look to be fishing on your favorite spots with your favorite baits at those times. Refer to a smart phone app like “Best Fishing Times” to get more info on peak bite times.

The near coastal areas should be chock full of Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, Jacks, Ladyfish, and other energized fast swimming species. Look for the flocks of birds feeding on the scraps of an underwater frenzy. Send out any bucktail type jig, about ¼ - 3/8 oz, tipped with a small piece of shrimp for immediate action.

Stock up on D.O.A. Baitbusters and Terror Eyz and head to the backwaters to battle with the Snook as they head way back into the creeks and rivers for the winter season. In a good moving tide, fish the eddy side of the points.  For some fantastic action, throw them a handful of live pilchards followed by one on a circle hook. Hang on!

 

May is here and the water temperatures are up to the high 70’s - summer fishing has begun! It already seems like forever since those cool mornings and relentless winds we had last month. 

May is generally a mild month as the winter winds are finished, and the summer storms have not yet begun.  Because of this, you can travel further distances, and work different wrecks and areas less fished by others.  If you get out to the shallow wrecks, look for larger schools of Permit.  They will happily feed on small live crabs, artificial crabs, and jigs.  Cobia will be available on the same wrecks. Bring a few live finger mullet out to these guys for a little drag screemin’ fun!

The flats are alive with Speckled Trout this month.  Drift grassy areas in the 3’-5’ depth range.  Throw ¼ and 3/8 oz  buck tail jigs tipped with a small piece of shrimp for some fast action.  Also try all types of soft plastic jigs, spoons, & top water plugs.  Trout will happily hit live baits like shrimp and Pilchards. Most of what you catch will be in the slot.  When you find one, mark the spot and keep coming back and drifting past it, or just stake off and work the school.

The big “momma” Snook are beginning to show their faces.  We will all be welcoming them with open arms and cheering them on to make LOTS of babies!  If you are targeting Snook, please take extra care to not wear them out with light tackle, and to take an extra couple of minutes to assure a full revival when releasing them.

Redfish are around and will gladly accept live bait like Pilchards, Thread Herring, Shrimp, or Fiddler Crabs.  Also be sure to try a GULP shrimp on a weighted jig head, or a gold spoon.  Look for Reds around oyster bars, especially the last part of the incoming tide.

Take a kid fishing and target Mangrove snapper.  They are plentiful around the mangrove roots and can be caught on live shrimp.  Remember, keep a child busy catching a lot of small fish.  Their day will be much more memorable catching 20 Snapper vs hunting for a couple of trophy fish all day!

This month through June I will be in Big Pine Key to get in on the annual Tarpon run at the Bahia Honda  Bridge.  I still have a few openings left for my Florida Keys Tarpon-only charters so drop me a line and let’s get you hooked up to some giant Tarpon!

Captain Pete Rapps
Captain Rapps’ Charters & Guides
239-571-1756
www.CaptainRapps.com 

Captain Rapps’ Charters & Guides offers expert guided, light tackle, near shore, and backwater fishing trips in the 10,000 Islands of the Everglades National Park, and Tarpon-only charters in the Florida Keys. Capt. Rapps’ top notch fleet accommodates men, women, & children of all ages, experienced or not, and those with special needs. Between their vast knowledge & experience of the area, and easy going demeanors, you are guaranteed to have a great day. Book your charter 24/7 using the online booking calendar, and see Capt. Rapps’ first class web site for Booking info, Videos, Recipes, Seasonings, and more at www.CaptainRapps.com 

The past few weeks here have had  a few cold mornings along with some warm afternoons. The water temperatures in the river areas of the Everglades National Park and 10000 islands are varying  between 64 and 69 degrees. 

We have seen Redfish in good numbers around Chokoloskee and Everglades City and have been catching them primarily on the incoming tides. I had out Peter Klopf and crew and got 28 Redfish on one spot, Fleet Capt Kurt Kintz put Darren and Don on 32 Redfish, and fleet Capt Bob Bergin put Bert and his crew on ten Pompano, and the awesome catching list goes on. Redfish have been taking shrimp under popping corks mainly on the incoming tides, some good Sheepshead are hitting live Shrimp presented on a circle hook along the deeper mangrove shorelines. Come book a trip with Captain Rapps fleet and let us show you what a fun day on the water is all about. 
http://www.captainrapps.com
http://www.BahiaHondaTarponCharters.com
http://www.EvergladesCityFishingGuides.com

Fishing report Everglades City and Chokoloskee, FL

August 13, 2012.   The water temp in our area of the Ten Thousand Islands of Everglades National Park is currently 88 degrees. Our summer rain storms are here and we can certainly count on daily storms just about each afternoon. We have been getting out early and enjoying some awesome fishing.  Capt Brandon has been getting into some nice big Spotted Sea Trout on the incoming tides.  Snook and Redfish have been eating good too.

Last 2 weeks of 2011 Provides Fantastic Fishing

Wow, what an end to 2011 it has been! Redfish are still a primary target for us. We are having days where a dozen or two are the norm. The best and most positive thing we have seen are the return of Snook. After the big winter freeze and Snook Kill in January 2010, we are finally seeing some fantastic Snook Fishing. Both large Snook in the 30"-40" range are being caught, along with some little peanuts in the 10"-14" range. This is a positive sign for us to see because it shows the larger breeding size females are coming back to our area, and the presence of the smaller Snook show signs that the larger ones have been spawning. Do not get me wrong, they still are in a fragile state and need time to re-populate back to the quantities that we used to have.

November 2011 Forecast and Report

We are seeing RED right now..... Lots of RED!  Last fall we were catching so many 12-14" Redfish as a result of the big Freeze of January 2010. I have written many articles about this topic, so here is the short of the long..... The freeze of January 2010 killed many of the big back country predators (Snook, Goliath Grouper, Catfish), so the juvenile Redfish which hatched the summer/fall of 2009, basically had a limited amount predators to feed on them all of that winter. As a result, many of the baby Reds grew an average of 12" in their first year, and now that another year has passed, those "Rat Reds" are currently 2 years old, and in the lower to middle slot range. This makes for some of the best Redfishing many of us have ever seen!

Want to get out there and catch some Reds? Book your charter today and we will show you what I am talking about!

Captain Rapps' fishing charters and guides out of Everglades City, Chokoloskee, and the 10000 Islands of the Everglades National Park, FL. 

Log on now at http://www.CaptainRapps.com

Fishing update Sept 26th 2011

This weekend was a good one here in the 10000 Islands of the Everglades National Park! The daytime air temperatures reached about 89 degrees, and the water temperature was 82 close to the shore lines we fished. The color of the water was dirty as it usually is for this time of year. We are still getting out early and leaving the dock at the crack of dawn in order to get a good 4-6 hours of fishing in before the bite slows from the heat of the day. Here in Evergdes City and the Chokoloskee Island areas of the Everglades National Park, we are currently catching awesome amounts of Redfish and Speckled Sea Trout.  This past Saturday Rick Lademann and his dad from Naples were out on a Captain Rapps charter with Capt Gary. They caught a bunch of Redfish in the legal slot, some Speckled Trout, a few Flounder, and some nice Mangrove Snapper. Some really nice fillets went home with those guys for sure! The Snook bite remains pretty decent on the outside. Next month we will start to fish the rivers and back country again with the Snook's anticipated annual migrations towards the back country. Book your fishing trip today at http://www.captainrapps.com