by Capt. Rodney Raffield
Fishing this past month has been in a full summer pattern with fish moving out of the Backcountry and into the Islands. With the temperatures being downright HOT later in the afternoon, you want to get a very early start (6am). This time of year it is critical to target that trophy snook early, as they get sluggish in the heat of the afternoon. I typically donât do any charters longer than a 1/2 day (4hrs) this time of year, as it becomes quite uncomfortable for my anglers later in the day. We have been producing very good numbers of trout on the outside flats and points with quite a few of these fish exceeding 20â. Redfish are around and I am getting a limit on my charters nearly every trip out. Both the reds and trout are hitting jigs well, but we are seeing good action on Yozuri Inshore Minnows as well.
As I mentioned last month, this is Big Snook time and the goal for this summer is to produce a 40â plus fish. I have upsized my baits and have been throwing some 6â paddle tails in both Zman and Mr. Wiffelure with Pearl and Smoke colors both doing well. If hard baits are your thing, I like a Catch 5 MirrOLure as well as Yozuri Inshore Minnow for targeting the monsters. This is not for everyone, as you will get less bites, but the reward could be the fish of a lifetime. That being said the fish pictured in this article were all caught on 3â paddle tails, which is my favorite size baits. So, get out there and put that favorite lure to work and donât second guess yourself and it will happen. Till next time my friends, Capt. Rodney Raffield.
