Do you enjoy fishing with live bait? Now is a great time to check your tackle and hold on tight. The hot summer months can produce some excellent fishing action throughout our region.
To begin with, live baits such as shrimp, pinfish, or even fingerling mullet will all work well when targeting a variety of game fish. Anglers can expect the early morning trout bite to be its best during low light conditions. Live shrimp or small pinfish rigged under a popping cork is a great way to hook up with a trout. Fishing these baits in 4 feet of water or less while suspending the bait just off the bottom is a great way to bring one to the boat. Anglers should keep in mind that trout have excellent eye sight. To overcome this, I suggest making long casts to a targeted area. This can be done by fishing with a seven foot medium action spinning reel combo equipped with 20 pound test braided line and 15 pound test mono leader. This will allow anglers to cast the bait far away from the boat where the fish have yet to be spooked. During this time of year, many of our trout can measure up to 24” long.
In addition, anglers will also be able to catch snook. Several of these fish will be willing to feed near old boat docks and mangrove shorelines with steep drop offs. The bait of choice will be scented jerk baits. One lure that has worked especially well is Bass Assassin’s 4” Sea Shad (Electric Chicken) rigged on a 1/8 ounce jig head. When targeting these fish, use a seven foot medium action spinning reel combo equipped with 25 pound test braided line.
