Steinhatchee – August Fishing Report

Time for Reef Donkeys and Florida Snapper

Red snapper, for-hire, season, June 1 -July 21, couldn’t have been any better, unless the fish jumped in the boat.  It was limit-trips every time, plus gag groupers and kingfish and/or cobia. However, in August, red snapper is closed, yet amberjack opens, so the best bet is to target AJ’s, one per person limit.  Go to high relief waypoints, you can find on the internet, and best bait is fresh caught live-bait!  If you are stupid, and don’t stop and catch freshly caught, live-bait toss jigs.

When the reef-donkeys are onnnn, have fun and pitch huge top-water plugs with the treble hooks replaced with a single J hook on the rear.  It is a hoot to watch a shoal, twenty-pound fish, scrabble to take the top-water lure.

I don’t concentrate much on Florida snapper or sea bass fishing, unless requested.  Less than fifty pounds of such miscellaneous catch is normally enough to satisfy.  However, under current ridiculous regulations, one must adapt and pursue another species of fish.  Thankfully, they are abundant.  Florida snapper (aka grunt), and sea-bass, are prolific over any hard bottom from 30 to 50 feet.  The best bait is squid strips or cut bait.  Use trout gear, rigged with a knocker rig, for the most fun.  It is always great fun and eats