February in S.W.Florida is active for the fishing community. There are several species to target, whether you like offshore or inshore. In my article when I talk about regulations, I talk about Florida Regulations/State waters which is not to be confused with Federal Regulations past 9 nautical miles in the Gulf of Mexico. Looking out in the Gulf, the red grouper has no closed season but needs to be 20"TL, bag limit 2. Yes, you can find these great eating fish inside of 9 miles. There are ledges that hold reds, and in these same areas you can find mangrove snapper, white grunts, lane snapper, and trigger fish. The gray trigger fish is back in season with a bag limit of 2 and need to 14" FL. To harvest these species, anchor on the structure and start with frozen baits, shrimp, squid, and whatever frozen you have. As the bite slows, change baits and see what works. If you are prepared with some live baits like shrimp (I get mine at Fishin' Franks) to send down as they quit biting on frozen. If you throw the net, white bait works very well for this too. This is when the bigger snapper usually feed. I use 1/0 VMC circle hooks with 20 lb. clear leader about 6' and an egg weight to create a knocker rig. This works well for bottom fishing. Moving closer to the beach on the reefs there will be plenty of sheepshead and flounder to harvest. For pelagic species, there may be king, spanish mackerel and cobia in the area depending on the water temperature. For those that fish inshore, redfish and trout can be found along the edges of the islands and under the mangroves. Trout are also out on the grass flats and in the deeper trough behind the bars. Pompano along the edges of the bars and just inside the passes using a small jig, and also use shrimp under a popping cork when you are fishing for trout. The mangrove snapper are on the inshore reefs and bridge structures wherever there is moving water. If you are visiting our area or have northern guests visiting that want to go fishing, Capt. Bart Marx can help. Give me a call 941-979-6517 or e-mail me captbart@alphaomegacharters.com.  Always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*(((((>{