Fishin Franks Fishing report 12-13 Charlotte Harbor

[Fishing Report]

41 bridges - .......silver and speckled trout moving in, water temps are finally dropped and are
bringing the fish further in looking for the warm stuff. soft plastics, a 3" Gulp shrimp in new penny
or natural for a color choice, would be a good bet for bait.



Alligator Creek-.........lots of undersized redfish, try using circle hooks on these guys for a better
chance at not gut hooking them,




Alligator creek reef "concrete reef"- .spanish mackerel, some bluefish, a few trout. a few snapper
and sheepshead in the early morning, but the bite is inconsistent, The cooler water is going to
improve the bite.

A real cool thing is trolling up and down the side of the reef, for grouper "Gags" the number 1 lure
Mann stretch 6

Bay shore piers- . ..................Trout hitting early in the morning until about 9:30 a.m. when the
sun tops the trees. Remember, they're out of season until Jan. 1st





Bokeelia - ..........Trout -- of course they are out of season. Small Gags, blue fish, also some
spanish mackerel on Got-cha lures cast moderate retrive slow jiggin motion.
and a few small sharks. Sheepshead and pompano starting to move in.




Boca pass "from boat"..........spanish mackerel, bluefish, odd king and bonito. blind cast silver spoons,
Gotcha jerk jig, or Bomber B15axsig lures. pompano and flounder along the edges of the channel.
use small jigs tipped with shrimp. snapper and grouper bite has been doing well, primarily on squid
and shrimp.



Boca pass "from shore". ...........pompano and whiting doing well along with the spanish mackerel about
80 feet off the beach. sheepshead are moving in as well as the flounder. lotsa bonnetheads too.



Bull bay- - ...... sheepshead coming in under the fish shacks and the channel out front, reds on
the cusp of Bull and Turtle bay as well as between there and Whidden creek. still a few snook running
around in there too. the reds are doing well on the new penny Gulp mud minnow croaker. the old
reliable Zara Spook Jr. is a great choice for a topwater out there right now. bone sl is the color.


Cape haze reef, -. .......Mackerel , Lady fish , Jew fish 40 pound range, some bonnet sharks.

Cape Haze behind the bar- ....trout showing up along the bar and a few bonnetheads.

Cattle dock ......redfish up around the old pilings, drift a shrimp in there, mostly undersized, again,
try using a circle hook.


Charlotte Harbor 22' hole- ........spanish mackerel, bluefish, and an oddball king or two, very
scattered so its hit or miss.


East Side . ......reds are scattered along the entire east side, in the potholes and up under the bushes.
mostly smaller fish but there have been some bull reds following the mullet moving up and down the
bar. use shrimp, cut ladyfish, or one of several Gulp products on a jig head.



East spring lake -.........snapper moving in up around the docks. some keeper size snook being caught
in there too, but season is closed.


El-Jo bean pier- .......the fishing is starting to get better with the slightly cooler water temps. getting
reports of some reds being caught along with the usual snapper and sheepshead but not consistently
. black drum will be up in there. a few snook biting in the early morning and evening hours. lots of
good lure choices from Bomber to be throwing up there right now.




1
Englewood pier "Tom Adams bridge" ........whiting and pompano during the day, anyone got
anything to add?


end of Midway-. ...........black drum and mangrove snapper.


Gilchrist pier- ...........Whiting and Trout getting better, still a lot of ladyfish around .





Gulf cove- ..........Snook under the docks, and Red fish at the locks


Gulf of Mexico -. . ......still a lot of fish out there but things are going to change significantly over
the next week with the water temps dropping the way they are, 5 degrees since last week. If you
go, give us a report.


.

Harbor Heights park- . ...snapper , ladyfish, kitty cats and the occasional red.


Hobbs point- ........some redfish and mangrove snapper moving around on the backside of the
point, lots of small trout out front. The front trough has it's share of small Snook,





I-75 bridges "boat only" .......lots of ladyfish and a few black drum. rolling tarpon & Blue fish,
the snook have moved in around the bumpers. lots of bait up river is bringing in lots of fish.
Whiting have been on the bottom south side of the bumpers. pieces of shrimp with a slip sinker rig.



Laishley Pier - ,..........Trout are doing well Shrimp under a poppin cork incoming tides
a few reds and black drum if you are bottom fishing,



Little Gasparilla pass - ......temps are dropping so the sheepshead, pompano, flounder are moving
around a little more, shrimp and fiddler crabs are your bait of choice for all of them,


Mouth of the Myakka river, . ........... , ladyfish, spanish mackerel, and bluefish around marker 8,
look for that to change with the cold weather over the next week.

Myakka cutoff- .....some nice reds in there and also some nice snook, remember, catch and
release only, with the cooler temps I would try shrimp or cut bait,




Navigator - ......Mixed reports coming in a lot of guys are trolling up there, & the catch
has been varied X-rap 8's & 10's kickin butt. Red fish on the opposite shore. look for the dips in the
bottom. drift chunks of cut bait or shrimp back from the boat, let it sit then let out some slack.




Peace river above I-75 - . ....... lots of small Red fish around the islands, Gar, Snook




Placida pier // "trestle" //-,....cold water is here, so are the sheepshead along with a few pompano,
whiting, bluefish, and spanish macks. sandfleas and fiddler crabs are your best bet for the sheepies.






Ponce de-Leon park- ...mangrove snapper, small jacks, some nice black drum and odd
oversized redfish.



Port charlotte Beach pier- . .......night fishing has been best for snook and redfish. live shrimp or
Rapala XR10-OG along with a weedless gold spoon are good choices for hooking up.



Port charlotte Canals Salt/brackish - .....snapper and lots of mullet, get the net out





Pirate Harbor- ........reds and snook starting to show up in better numbers, lots of small trout on
the outside of the bar and along the sides of the channel.


Punta Gorda canals - .....black drum and snapper are the predominant bite in there right now,
some small reds running through, look for the sheepshead to start moving in with cooler water
temps over the next couple weeks.




Spillways along 41- .........snook and small tarpon on fresh water shiners aren't a bad bet,
try a Yozuri 3D minnow in the ghost color for a lure.




Stump pass- ,.......whiting and snook along with a few nice pompano. spanish and bluefish
moving in and out. small bucktails and spoons along with shrimp are working best.





Sharkey pier "Venice" . .......a few pompano, whiting, flounder, and an oddball shark, lots of Spanish
and kings. use a casting bubble with a clark spoon. they are tearing it up.



Skating Rink ........ Red fish in the middle a few are back against the trees.
Snook feeding the mouths of the ditches.



Three sisters flats and islands - .........scattered redfish, snook, and trout,, along with some nice
grouper and sheepshead inside the boca canal, best lure choice is a Mirrolure 19MR 49
moderate retrieve with a lot of twitchin.


Turtle bay- .........A little better than Bull Bay. Some decent reds being caught and some
nice snook moving around, look for fish around structure and deeper water. use shrimp and
ladyfish. Trout just inside the slow zone, the better reds are following the schools of mullet,



Venice Jetties- . ...........lots of sheepshead, odd pompano and spanish mackerel


West spring lake docks - ...........mangrove snapper and trout, a little slow with the weather change.


12/13/10

Crappie guys are fishing and a few brave hearted, sheep head guys,, fishing at Placida
and they are catching fish not just colds.

Trout have been getting more regular at P.C. beach & lashley pier, a late day bite off bay shore pier
fishing with poppin corks & shrimp is doing good.

Canals are the biggest story with Black drum, red fish, Snook, all huddling up in the canals
getting the afternoon warm up from the sun,

Best bet if you want to use your boat try trolling in the canals, or just anchor up and fish under some of the bridges
there are fish to be caught, maybe just not where we thought we be going, change your plans change your tactics
you will preserver.



12/11/10

There are three really cool jobs to have where you can tell people anything
and it really dose not matter if you are correct

1 weather man,- self explanatory on this one.

2, politician or any government job, again pretty much self explanatory. although here
there screw up cost us lots of money. then they get a pay raise?

3 give fishing advice, the fish did not cooperate, you were not holding your tongue
in the right place in your mouth, and the lunar activity in relationship to Jupiter,
caused a gravitational shift in the tides, of course this is why the double hooked swimming,
sinkin wap-belted-jigger did not catch fish.

The main thing we have in common, we do not have to be right and we still get paid

Hey you can not predict the weather, the fish did not cooperate, As for the politicians
well you just cant fix stupid. I guess that really make them not quite qualified for this category,


lets just add instead Doctors lots of money to guess give you pills cut you up, and charge you lots of money
to be wrong.

My only complaint is that I picked the lowest paying one.
Damn I should have been a weather man.


.............
Fishin Franks
4425-D Tamiami Trail
Charlotte Harbor Fl. 33980
941-625-3888
http://fishinfranks.com