Florida river fishing

[Buckeye Ron]

When I drive across the Peace or Caloosahatchee rivers I rarely see many fishing boats. This got me to wondering why not? Granted I'm on I-75 so maybe those aren't the prime fishing spots. For those of you who do fish those rivers,what are you fishing for and what tackle do you use?

[davecon]

Most people in that area go a little ways west to Charlotte Harbor for tarpon, snook, reds, trout, etc.

There are plenty of bass in those rivers, just further east.

There are some HUGE snook further up river mixed in with bass and tarpon. These are tidal rivers and take some getting used to and it's easier to run to the bay and soak live bait.

If you are a bass fisherman DO NOT FISH FOR SNOOK !!! Bass will never be the same.

[Gotfishyfingers?]

Around the I-75 and Caloosahatchee river would be considered more brackish then freshwater as the rivers leads out to the ocean. There are definitely big Snook  tarpon reds jacks etc. in there but the release of polluted lake O water does not help the fishery. It might be why you dont see as many boats as expected. Like Davecon said the further east up the river towards lake O is where the bass are more populated, less salinity..

[Buckeye Ron]

Thanks for the replies. It makes sense now. Hard to tell from the highway how brackish the water is. 

This isn't the first time I've heard it said if you're a bass fisherman don't fish for snook. I can't wait to catch one!

[Florida Cracker2]

The Caloosahatchee is always brackish. All the way to the mouth...all year long. Don't let the hype get too you. I've lived on it for nearly 50 years. Only when heavy rains hit us does it flow out to the beaches before the tides take it away. Weekdays the river is quiet and on weekends the fisherman hit it in droves. I catch bass, snook (one same lures)...snook hit anything that moves, bluegill, pickerel, tarpon, jack, fresh and saltwater catfish, sunshine bass, gar, ladyfish, bowfin...you name it, it's there. If it wasn't for the freshwater...the estuary would be dead. The polluted water hype is just that....hype. It's been doing this for decades and the estuary needs it.

[0119]

8 hours ago, Florida Cracker2 said:

The polluted water hype is just that....hype. It's been doing this for decades and the estuary needs it.

Exactly. Just fueled by developers who feel it hurts their profits.  That "polluted" brown water is tannic and clear. It has been tested over and over and "Pollution" in it is at normal levels.  The gulf water it is going into is dirty, uglier and more polluted than the freshwater.  I've lived on the gulf for over 50 years. Its stagnant, polluted and ALWAYS the color of dirty dish water. I'll take the brown any day.