Nearshore:
It’s really nice to see the hogfish bite still going on this summer, with water temperatures up to 90 degrees. They definitely are a bit more scattered, but making moves and picking off 1 or 2 a spot ends up being a great day – lane snappers, porgies, and mangroves still dominate that 50 to 75 feet with an occasional keeper red grouper in the mix. Shrimp on a hog all jig or 2 to 3-ounce knocker rig is still our choice of setups, and if you really want to pound some snappers, tie a dropper loop 18 inches up from the hog all jig and add a top hook, and you’ll see your catch increase drastically
Offshore:
The red snapper bite is on fire, to say the least, with limit catches on our first drops. If they won’t touch the pin fish, fire down a sardine or threadfin and hang on. We have seen the snapper bite way better on the dead bait. 150 to 180 feet has been our best depth.
With the great sea conditions lately, we were able to sneak out to Pulley Ridge with the Wood Butcher Fishing Team for some deep-water action at 500 to 625 feet. The electric reels were working overtime with a boatload of queen snappers, scamp, yellow edge, and snowy grouper. The flat line was busy with a fat blackfin tuna and a beautiful wahoo! If you ever get the chance to make this run, don’t pass it up! We offer these trips year-round!
