Fishing has remained steady this past week. I am happy to report that the bait fish are starting to get a little bit bigger since the fry hatch. Pretty soon great sized bait will be all over the place. Water temps remain in the high 80s to low 90s. That is really hot and we are not getting a lot of rain, but it’s starting to build more and more. A few days of steady rain will greatly help the bite. It will drop the water temps a but and lower the salinity in the back country and force these fish out from hiding. The remainder of the summer should be very good especially with consistent afternoon showers.
Snook and redfish bite has been solid, but most fish are way under the mangroves and it’s been tricky to get them out. We have had to work for every bite. White bait and pinfish have worked the best. With the water temps so hot it seems like the fish are being a bit lazy. We have had some luck chunking baits as well.
Trout bite has been good as well and we have been catching a lot of sharks while trout fishing. These have been great days for the kids and a lot of fun to see their excitement. Small white bait under a float has been the key. These are also some mackerel, ladyfish, and jacks around.
Tarpon have been a hit or miss mission right now, but they will soon be all over the place when we start to get some cool downs approaching fall. I can’t wait for this fall as it is my favorite time to fish and I highly recommend booking a trip, especially if you want to catch redfish, or even take your shot at landing a grand slam.
Redfish spawn around October and they really start to school up. Some of my best days have been 50 plus redfish days. Those days don’t always happen, so when it does, you better keep a bait in the water. There will be times when I chum 20 baits and you watch all 20 get smashed by a redfish. Doubles, triples, and quadruple headers are not uncommon. Fishing is fun!
Capt. Bucky Goldman of Bag’Em Fishing Charters. www.tampafloridafishingguide.com