Guide to fishing area's waters

It's never too hot to go fishing.

You may disagree if you've stood in unbearable heat on a fishing pier recently, or tried drift fishing across a steamy flat.

But I know you want to get back out there. Fishing remains fun. With Labor Day weekend just around the corner and an extra day off luring anglers to the water, here are some fishing tips from area guides who've been fishing daily despite the weather.

Snook: Fish where the water is moving so the temperature is more tolerable for them and for your live bait, which has been working best to catch snook. Pinfish are heartier but shiners are nailing the bites. Try finding deeper water, too. Instead of a shallow spot in Estero Bay or Pine Island Sound, go for the mouth of a river, for example.

It's catch-and-release until Sept. 1 for snook, and keep in mind those new regulations - the slot is 28 to 32 inches, measured with the tail pinched. When the season reopens, remember, too, the bag limit is one per day.

Redfish: High tides up around the mangroves and other bushes are producing catches for anglers looking to keep a red. The slot is 18 to 27 inches with a bag limit of one. Suggestion: Try the last hour of an incoming tide.

COURTESY PHOTO Tarpon have been spotted in area passes. Trout: Here's a fish that doesn't mind plastic baits and can still be had in shallow water. They're also responding to a popping cork and live shrimp. Find a 3 1/2 to 4 foot deep spot over a grass bed.

Then get ready, because these fish are biting. The slot is 15 to 20 inches, with one that can exceed the slot. It's a bag limit of four per day.

Tarpon: Late summer is not what you think of as tarpon season, so you may not want to target these big boys. That said, have a pole ready. Fish in the 60- to 70- pound range have been spotted in area passes.

Snapper: Good-sized mangrove snapper have produced fun for anglers fishing any place with structure. We're talking 15- to 16-inchers here. Just the right size for a snapper sandwich. Small shiners and other live bait work well.

Incidentals: Shark fishing typically is good this time of year - there's one fish that doesn't mind warm water. Ladyfish are abundant anywhere you're catching trout, and they make great shark bait.

Don't linger on the water getting sunburned, though, in a hunt for flounder or tripletail. Reports have come in for them, but it's the lucky anglers who track them down.

Reminder: In a column earlier this month, I mentioned the need for anglers to help clear fishing line from mangroves and structure to prevent harm to wildlife. Please be sure to pick up someone's trashed line when you're on the waterways this weekend and Labor Day weekend.

There's another way you can help. Lee County wants to boost its monofilament recycling programs. Sea Grant agent Joy Hazell is asking for anglers' assistance in inventorying where recycling depositories are now and identifying where others should be placed. Call her at (239) 461-7518 or e-mail hazellje@ leegov.com.

She's also looking for groups or individuals who want to volunteer in the effort, and she'd like tackle and bait shop owners to give her a shout if they're willing to offer their stores as drop-off sites for discarded line. ¦

- Betsy Clayton is a freelancer based on

Pine Island and also is Lee County Parks &

Recreation's waterways coordinator. Contact

her at boatingbybetsy@yahoo.com What's Biting Despite the throbbing mercury

and high humidity, it's

worth going fishing this time

of year. Some tips:

>>Remember snook season doesn't reopen until Sept. 1st, so don't keep any of the yummy game fish until after just after midnight on the Friday of the holiday weekend.

>>Target snook and redfish in areas where the water is deeper and/or where it is moving. Still water on the flats may be too warm for shiners and your other live bait to live very long.

>>Take kids fishing. Summertime and holiday weekends are made for family time. Try for mangrove snapper or spotted seatrout. You're likely to keep kids engaged when they get more bites, and these two species are biting well now. Use a cork with a shrimp or plastic baits.

>>Avoid the hottest part of the day. Hit the water by 7 a.m. and come back around 11 a.m.