by Capt. Rachel
Don’t let the heat keep you off the water. Go early and get off before 10:30/11:00am. Or go late in the afternoon, after 4:00pm. Higher water temperatures don’t turn the bite off, it just moves the fish. Look for deeper water where fish will find all they need: current, structure and food. I find outgoing tide can produce some of the best catching. After the tide has dropped down a bit, fish will be forced in to more condensed locations. I prefer to anchor out of the way of where the fish will want to go. I’ll anchor shallow and continue to move the boat out as the water drops, just be sure to not get yourself stuck.
Best plan is fish areas that get too hot to fish as time goes. Usually by 10 or 11:00 fishing behind mangroves become impossible due to lack of breeze. Try out areas off shore by looking on FWC.org under the saltwater tab you will find the artificial reef link. These are public numbers for reef and deep structure piles. Generally, you can find a breeze off the beaches and target reef species. Mangrove snapper will eat a variety of baits, but generally prefer a whitebait either a whole live or cut live bait. Heavy chumming of live bait slightly crushed or cut bait will help bring the fish up off the bottom. I’d like to take a moment and thank all my clients who have shared their lives with me. Photo below includes client, Rick Fagley and his son Elliott. I’ve had the great pleasure of getting to know him, his wife Carey & son Elliott along with other family members and friends along the way. Rick has been fighting a battle with cancer all the time I’ve known them. All the while you live your life to the fullest every day, fighting the fight to live it longer. We never know when our last fishing trip with our loved ones will be, so take the time to slow down and share some screaming drag.