So, You Want to Catch Big Fish, Do Ya?
It is the most wonderful time of year for beach goers and anglers looking for trophy fish. Snook and tarpon trophies, that is.
Pods of giant tarpon will be scouring the beaches up and down the entire Gulf Coast, and there will be anglers from Key West to Pensacola and everywhere in between throwing lines at them. The best part about my region is that there is significantly less pressure on these fish than other areas; but, they are still smart! Hanging out on the west side of Anclote Key will offer the best chance at hooking up to one of these silver beasts, but you will see pods of them from the grass flats out to the public reefs. Crabs, mullet, ladyfish, pilchards, pinfish, grunts and a variety of artificial lures will all work, but these fish are very wary and can be hook shy, leader shy or just plain old not hungry. Targeting them in the early morning hours is your best bet, but even nighttime is productive, especially during a large moon.
Speaking of fishing at night, there are some monster snook hanging out on these same beaches that love to feed at night. The early morning is also ideal; but, it isn’t uncommon for us to catch them from right between two party boats blaring music in the middle of the day! Big baits for these fish are what the doctor ordered. This is also a great time to dock light fish for snook. There are several neighborhoods in the region that have thousands of docks that these fish can hide in to ambush their prey. Go with your heavy gear on these fish, and load up with some pilchards or large shrimp, if you have an outgoing tide. `
Put those light rods away for a couple of months, and get out there and find yourself a trophy!