by Capt. Rachel Cato
Anglers can expect a slow bite if the water temperature is still high at the beginning of this month. If the water temperature is still in the low 90s or high 80s in some areas fish will stay a little sluggish. With higher water temperature current will continue to be a necessary condition for fish to become more active. Red tide will play a part on finding bait in areas deeply affected not to mention finding any fish still alive. Mangrove snapper are continuing to spawn heavily. To target this species basically cast a bait on the grass flats, mangrove shorelines, deeper water and reefs. If your bait is getting snatched it’s snapper or even pinfish. Tossing in some injured bait, cut or live will help bring up fish from deeper waters. Just wait for slower tide if you’re fishing channels or reefs, it’s hard to get bait down if the tide is ripping. The smaller bait hooked on a 1 or 1/0 hook will be the most productive. Trout and even snook or red will continue to mix in with the snapper so offering a larger hook will be better for the bigger species. Snapper tend to be a little leader shy so start at 25# and see if that works, if not try going down to 20# and you may find more hook ups. Earlier in the day and on higher water try fishing along the mangroves and in coves where bait can be found. Then as the heat rises get out into open water and find a breeze. Redfish are not as affected by high water temperature as snook so they will move through the flats feeding on the higher tide and dropping out into deeper water on the outgoing tide. As usual on high tides, fish will get back up into the mangroves where you cannot reach them. I like to wait for an outgoing tide to flush them out and find a deep hole or trough they will use as their exit. If the weather is just too hot, wait until about the middle to the later weeks in September and you’ll notice and big difference.