Starting the first full month of scorching heat for the year, water temperatures will rapidly reaching the 80 plus degree range. Getting out at first light and/or late evening will be the best bet for the shallow water enthusiast. Officially, this is the start of bright sunny days and semi predictable weather patterns for the rest of the summer. The bait fish are showing up in good numbers, giving the predators a wide variety of targets to forage upon. Starting out with some of the best top water action available from a wide variety of species aggressively striking a well-placed lure, Gator Trout will be in shadow pods of finger mullet. Working a lure relative to the size of the bait will be an important key to your success in landing your intended target. Depending on whether there are any surface activity like fish exploding on bait or just heavy concentrations will determine my method of approach and lure choice. One of my favorite lure choices and almost always rigged on a few of my rods is a bone colored spook jr. This lure has almost everything needed to attract and entice a strike from aggressive fish and at around 4 inches, a bite sized morsel for most. When the grass is in abundance the Pop Shadz by Z-Man is pretty hard to beat as it allows you to work the lure over a much larger area while still being appealing and grass free. As with most surface lures, a white belly profile will stand out and get the job done.
Tarpon will begin to show up around the mouths of feeder creeks, feeding on minnows and smaller mullet in early mornings and move out to deeper flats as the water temperature rises. Along with the Tarpon, the aerobatic Lady Fish and hard pulling Jacks will also be terrorizing the flats. Small jigs with minnow type bodies and swim tails will get the attention of any of these species and provide for some drag screaming fun for everyone. Bait fish patterns for the fly anglers in olive over white will be the ticket for matching the hatch. Larger Tarpon will be found close to the channels rolling and feeding on the smorgasbord of bait. Casting your offering well ahead of the rolling fish and allowing it to get into the zone will improve your hookup ratio.
The warmer water is also the beginning of the schooling of our big redfish and catching a trophy is probable for the next several months. Any of the above methods will work on these fish as well, however after being pressured, they tend to change their diets so a variety of baits is a good thing to have on hand. When all else fails, a nice hand pick shrimp is rarely refused by these monsters of the flats. As always feel free to give me a call or e-mail if I can make your next outing more productive along with helping you become a better angler, until next month “Tight Lines”
Capt Pat Murphy
mosquitolagoonguides@gmail.com | www.mosquitolagoonguide.com
Phone: 321-278-9852
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