Good Time Charters

Horse conch and lightening whelk

Fort Myers beach dolphin cruise

Wow, we have been seeing so much wildlife where do I begin! Our morning cruises have truly been spectacular, our afternoon runs have been awesome with no shortage of dolphin sightings, and the sunset cruises have just been amazing to catch sight of dolphins, watch the sunset out over the gulf, and then watch the flocks of birds flying in to roost for the night. On a recent Coastal sealife shelling and dolphin cruise, we not only had playful dolphins jumping out of the water and playing near the boat but we also found another “Mongo” whelk, as well as a huge horse conch, and a sea hare. We put them back in the water after checking them out and talking about them with our passengers. Then as if the morning was as good as it could get, we saw a mother manatee with her calf moving into the grass flats to feed! What a treat as they have been rare to see lately with the cool water temps.

On a recent afternoon dolphin cruise, Capt Mike rescued a brown pelican that was entangled in fishing line, hooked in the leg, and unable to fly. Capt Mike was able to free the bird successfully and it flew away, but noticed that there was tons more fishing line still waiting to entangle more birds. He had me meet him at the dock after his tour, to go out and help cut all this line from the island. This isn’t just any island but a rookery island where our pelicans and wading birds are known to ‘rest and nest’. As I waded slowly over to the island, so I wouldn’t stress out and spook any birds, I was amazed at how much of this fishing line was there, woven over the branches,  all the way to the interior of the island and back out, all the way to the top branches, and we measured about 75 ft of line that I took out of there. Wow, good eye Capt Mike for spotting that pelican. Speaking of Capt Mike, he has been reporting the redfish bite is back! We had a couple cold fronts slow the fishing down a couple weeks ago, but now with the water temps climbing back into the mid 60′s the redfish are hungry and biting! Capt Mike’s Fort Myers beach fishing charters have been catching sea trout, sheepshead, and redfish.  WooHoo! Who likes Blackened Redfish Tacos?? ME ME!

If you have been around Fort Myers Beach lately, you have been enjoying our wonderful temperatures and gorgeous sunsets. Everyday seems magical here for us, and we thank all of you that come out with us to learn about and experience our paradise. Well, off for more Fort Myers Beach boating adventures- Cristina and the rest of the Good Time Family.

It has been a great week, super busy, and we have been seeing lots of wildlife including dolphins and manatees. The manatees have been tough to find and get to their “hang outs”, either because of really low tides, or cool water temps. We are still spotting sea turtles around and birds galore! Up until this cold front that rolled in yesterday, the fishing has been jammed packed with lots of action. Now with the front, fishing was tough the past couple days but Capt Mike still had a decent bite today, working the flats and oyster bars with live shrimp. We expect the fishing to improve tomorrow and on into next week as our temperatures climb back up. The red fish have been hungry and the big sheepies have been biting too.  Here are a couple pics from some recent charters:

It has been an awesome week in Estero bay despite the hit or miss weather of fronts and rain.  Red fish are on fire with most measuring mid slot.  The reds were eating live shrimp on jig heads just out from the mangroves in areas of good current and about 2 to 3 feet of water.  The top of the tides have been most productive for the reds as well as for sea trout. Working the grass flats with a popping cork and a jig head tipped with shrimp was all it took to entice the sea trout, many mid to upper slot.  Also being caught this past week were lots of snapper and sheepshead, mostly on the shorter end but in large abundance.  found catching these notorious bait stealers took no more than a bite size chunk of shrimp on a jig head.

The Redfish bite is on in Estero Bay Fort Myers Beach! Capt Mike has reporting lots of action in the passes with bonnethead shark and snapper. But Capt Mike loves being in the back water and watching our customers land a slot red on light tackle! Here is a photo of a recent fishing charter, she landed this beautiful 8lb, 27″ redfish. Beautiful. And best of all, they released it. We have also been having lots of fun with our resident dolphins around Fort Myers Beach. Here is a photo of a resident dolphin “Floppy” with her ~2 yr old calf (on her left).

Lots of fishing fun going on around Fort Myers Beach with Captain Mike! Currently, the redfish bite has been great, and the snapper are hungry! Lots of keeper flounder are being caught on the flats too. Pompano and jacks are also being caught near shore and they are always a fun fight! Here are a couple photos of two of our regulars from recent charters. Jack, now 5 yrs old, has been going fishing with Capt Mike since before he could walk! In the photo he is showing off his flounder he landed. The other photo is of Jenni, while not an experienced fisherwomen, she can sure land them just like the pros! Jenni recently caught this beautiful pompano while fishing with Capt Mike around Fort myers Beach.

Capt. Mike of Good Time Charters reports another great week of trout fishing in Estero Bay.  The sea trout were found along the edges of oyster bars and points of mangrove islands with good water movement,  using jig heads tipped with live shrimp.  The jig heads proved effective bounced along the bottom and/or floated below a popping cork.  Redfish and sheepshead were abundant in the same areas using little to no action.  Often times just a chunk of shrimp on a jig head was enough to hook the sheepshead, notorious for stealing bait.  Best advice for the sheepshead is patience and a tight line, especially on these windy winter days.  Remember keeping your rod tip low and your line submerged in windy conditions will greatly increase your sensitivity and better your chance of a solid hook up.

Capt. Mike Denegre of Good Time Charters reports an exceptional week in Estero Bay.  The spotted sea trout were on fire.  Catching these weak mouth delights require a little finesse.  Capt. mikes charters found the Jig heads tipped with live shrimp to work great especially when bounced along the bottom or floated with a popping cork.  On colder mornings try bouncing the bait along the bottom as the fish tend to be feeding lower in the warmer water.  When not targeting trout, sheepshead and lots of undersized reds were caught letting the bait lay on the bottom along oyster bars and mangrove islands with some depth and strong presense of shell fish.   For the sheepshead, the jig heads with a thin hook is recommended tipped with just a piece of shrimp in order to hook these notorious bait stealers.

Red fish and spotted sea trout has been biting here great lately and they are hungry. These are photos of some of our regulars that fish with us often. Great people and great fishing fun. December has brought us weekly cold fronts and the fish have been biting like crazy in between the fronts, with many slot reds. Trout are out of season until January here but are still fun to catch.

Capt. Mike Denegre of Good Time Charters reports a great red fish bite in Estero Bay.  Using jig heads tipped with live shrimp along the mangroves proved most successful.  Most of the reds caught were undersize but there were lots of em and they’re hungry!  Mixed in with the shorts were some slot fish as well a couple over sized.  Along with red fish,  the sheepshead are starting to pick up as the water temp. begins to cool.  Those sheepshead that were quick enough to beat a red fish to the shrimp were decent size all 12″ plus.  Casting just out from the trees in slightly deeper water found plenty of trout and an occasional flounder.  Lots of great action in Estero Bay this past week especially on the strong tides and in areas of decent water clarity.

Capt. Mike Denegre of Good Time Charters reports a great week fishing in Estero Bay and its adjoining passes this past week. Casting Live shrimp with no more than an eighth ounce of weight around the mangroves has produced lots of mangrove snapper as well as red fish. Moving water and adequate water depth are key. The Reds have been found most active around the top of the tide around the trees and into the shade as the day warms up. Also around the top of the tide Capt. Mike has found lots of action on the grass beds. Fishing live shrimp under a popping cork in 3 to 5 feet of water over grass brought in lots of spotted sea trout and occasional pompano and bonnet head sharks. Drifting the passes early in the day found a nice mix of snapper, trout, mackeral, and grunts. All of these were caught using 8th ounce jig heads bounced along the bottom.