July and August can be difficult, but we must learn how to make the best of it. Here we go again with completely ridiculous “seasons” for Gag Grouper and a “no season” for American Red Snappers when they are beyond plentiful. Ask any diver, or better yet, get your own camera and drop in to see who’s home in some of your favorite places.
You’ll be shocked!!!
One of my friends, who’s a serious diver, told me the last time he went to shoot a couple Gags for dinner, he had a hard time finding an open shot at the Gag(s) he wanted because the American reds were so thick. Sorry, I got off on a rant, but… The way I look at fishing is don’t ask them to bite … make them bite!
Don’t blame me if you’re not getting Grouper bites using your chicken rigs, three-way swivels with bank sinkers, and flutter jigs. Granted you’ll catch plenty of Grunts, pinkies, and Seabass using chicken rigs and cut bait, but if you’re going Grouper fishing, go specifically fishing for Grouper! Like I said before, don’t ask them to eat it, make them eat it. The Decoy Jig does exactly that. Gag Grouper are off-limits this month so you’ll need to go deeper to go Scamp fishing, Scamps go crazy over a live pin fish on a Decoy Jig. If you have access to productive waters near a fish cleaning station, set a pinfish trap and take pinfish with you from the marina, and of course, a box or two of frozen cigar minnows. Groupers consider pinfish, sailors, grass grunts, and all the little snappers egg eaters. If for no other reason, they eat them to kill them so they will not eat their eggs. The other reason a live pinfish is good bait is because it eliminates all the trash bites. Not talking trash about a Grunt, pinkie or Seabass, but that’s not what I’m fishing for.
If you get a bite on a live pinfish, chances are, it’s something worthy of going in the cooler. Find a big stack of Beeliners, cigs and/or sardines and fish a pretty bait on the bottom around it and you will certainly get bites. All the time you’re fishing on the bottom keep a light line out, there’s no telling what will bite this time of year. When the water gets hot, Wahoo are everywhere and nowhere. You never know what’s going to eat the light line this time of year. Wahoo, sailfish, Yellowfin and Blackfin will all come inshore (closer than you may think).
Another fish commonly overlooked is the African pompano. The African pompano can be very picky and can be as picky or more picky than the Gags and Scamps. The bulk of their diet is made up of squid, but they will readily take live cigar minnows and live sardines on the bottom. A lot of African Pompanos are caught down near the tower by King Mackerel fisherman slow trolling menhaden in shallow water during the hottest months of the year.
TIM BAREFOOT
barefootcatsandtackle.com