By Capt. Michael Savedow, Edgewater River Guide
Say hello to the Dog Days of Summer: we’re into the hottest month of the year, but that shouldn’t stop you from catching fish. Best times are early morning, late afternoon, and nighttime. The most bites come on a free-lined live shrimp: no weight or swivels, just a fluorocarbon leader tied to your line and a hook. Also try small-sized lures. The lights are great for fly fishing, too.
Snapper have been growing larger all year in our inshore waters, with more keeper-size fish in the Intracoastal Waterway, Edgewater Backcountry, Mosquito Lagoon, and Ponce de Leon Inlet. These structure-oriented fish school around docks, jetties, underwater rocks, and drop-offs in the backwaters. Shrimp is always a go-to bait for river mangos, but if you’re targeting the bigger ones, use small live baitfish or cut bait. The minimum size is 10″ with a pinched tail, and the bag limit is five per person.
The late summer means Bull Redfish are prepping for the fall spawn at the inlet. Look for them in the channels from the inlet south into the ICW at New Smyrna, the bridges in Edgewater, and Haulover Canal. You can drift the channels or anchor. To drift, ride the tide: bait with small or halved blue crabs, live pinfish, pigfish, croakers, spots, or mullet. Outgoing tide is often best, mimicking the natural drift of crabs. Use heavier tackle to shorten the fight: these fish range from 20 to 35+ lbs. In summer, warm water and low dissolved oxygen levels mean long battles can hurt the fish. Never hold a big fish vertically by the jaw with a gripper for photos. Always support it horizontally for the best chance at healthy release and future baby redfish.
Lagoon and backcountry fishing stays good in August. Free-line pigfish, croakers, and shrimp near drop-offs, docks, oyster bars, flats edges, and island shorelines for Seatrout, Redfish, Snook, Snapper, and Jack Crevalle. Twitch your rod often to keep the bait active and off the bottom. For rolling Tarpon in open water, try live baitfish on the surface or with a small weight down deeper. Shallow-water Redfish are year-round targets. In summer, start early with topwater lures: walk-the-dog styles and soft plastics. After the sun’s been up an hour or so, switch to subsurface: weedless soft plastics, spoons, or bait like tail-hooked shrimp, finger mullet, mud minnows, or cut bait. Look for tailing or waking fish near mullet schools in skinny water.
Night fishing under dock and bridge lights continues to produce. From Ponce Inlet to Ormond Beach on the Halifax River and south to Oak Hill and Bethune Beach on the Indian River, lights attract shrimp, baitfish, Trout, Snook, and more. Late evening through early morning is best with less traffic. By the end of the month come the early signs of the mullet run. The first “scout” mullet arrives from the north, traveling the surf line and entering the inlet area.
