By Capt. Dave Stephens
Summertime in South West Florida, this is an absolutely great time to fish. Without a doubt, there are more things going on in the harbor during the summer than at any other time of year.
The snook are in their post-spawn pattern and very hungry. The local oyster bars and mangrove shorelines with a good current will have feeding fish. The seasonal rains will begin to turn our waters a tea color from the tanning acids, “A Natural Occurrence”.
This will help with the red fish bite. The darker waters make them less spooky and easier to approach. For the anglers that are looking for something for dinner? This is a great time for mangrove snapper; they will also be more aggressive in the darker water. Deeper creeks, mangrove points, and oyster bars on the flats will be holding good numbers of snapper. Trout fishing will also pick up. Look for fish on the deeper flats. I like to look for flats with a mix of sand holes, which gives them good ambush areas.
Without a doubt, the king of summer has to be tarpon. These guys will begin to move into the upper harbor to feed. The past few months, they’ve spent their time on the beaches and in the pass, schooling up for spawning offshore. The key to locating tarpon is to get an early start, especially on those glassy, calm mornings, when rolling fish are very easy to spot.
Summer can also bring some severe thunderstorms, so keep a eye on the sky. These storms often form very fast and can be very severe.
— Capt. Dave Stephens 941-916-5769 | www.backbayxtremes.com
