By: Capt. Bart Marx
Looking at the inshore possibilities this month. The sheepshead bite should still be going on near the docks and bridges along the coast. And nearshore reefs out to 45ft. can be holding them also. You may even find some flounder along the edges of these same reefs. Black drum around the pilings close to the bumper systems, drop a half of a blue crab down and hold on they get around 30 to 40 pounds. There should be plenty of speckled sea trout along the edges of the sandbars close to the deeper waters and they can be harvested with a popping cork and a shrimp or GULP. They will hit top water plugs and suspending lures too. Redfish along the edges of the mangroves using your trolling motor what we call beating the bushes. Like bass fishing go along and cast under the trees and hanging limbs. When you hook one be mindful that there could be more in the same pocket where you hooked your red. Pompano like to travel the edges of the sandbars, while you are traveling in the boat keep an eye behind you they skip through your prop wash. Also check the channel markers out in the open waters as cobia tend to go to the ones that have bait there hunting for a meal or they could be out in the open waters where there are schools of bait looking for a meal. Offshore we talked about sheepshead. Mangrove snapper will find some structure where there is food. You can also find the lane snapper in these same areas along with grunts and porgies. There are lots of choices to target, always check current FISH RULES to make sure what you are keeping follows the FWC rules. Most of these species you can target with a medium to heavy rod in the 10 to 30-pound seven-foot range with a 5000 series reel with 20lb or 30lb braid with a mono leader. I use a knocker rig or a chicken rig they both work well. If you don’t have a boat or are new to the area I can help. I can do a training session on your boat to help you know where you can take you boat and use your gear to fish. And if you don’t have a boat call and set up a charter and I can show you how we do fishing here in S.W. Florida. I also have gift certificates on request. So if you would like some of my services give me a call. And always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*(((((>{