Cape Coral canal fishing (renting, house, schools)

[jverreaux]

We are renting a house in Cape Coral on the Groton canal. Does any know the type of fish that can be caught in this canal, can the fish be eaten, and what type of bait/lures do I use? We will be there all of feb. and the first two weeks of March.

Thanks

[nhkev]

I have caught snook ,sheepshead, snapper , catfish from my dock. There are also lots of mullet and juvenile tarpon. I am not familiar with the particular canal you'll be on. But mine is a gulf access

[rikoshaprl]

Your canal is gulf access but quite far from the river. You will likely catch plenty of catfish with shrimp as bait but all the other fish Kev named are probably there too. I have a underwater light and last night was the first night I didn't see any fish. Normally there are tons of bait fish, a couple dozen catfish and a couple of snook. Last week the water was boiling with some kind of large bait fish. My neighbor told me there was most likely Jackfish feeding. There was also a dolphin getting in on the action. I casted a lure into the schools but no luck.
Here is a map to find the canal names if anyone is interested. You can pan the map to see all the names, one section at a time.
Finisterre Lake, 65A - CHNEP.WaterAtlas.org