By: Captain Terry Fisher
Once a year I travel to St. Louis, Missouri to spend time with the family and friends to enjoy fishing in the fresh waters of the lakes and rivers of Missouri. It’s been many years since I lived in that area and with only a handful of return trips back, and as time goes on, I find myself wanting to visit the old haunts where I grew up and fished before becoming a salt water angler and guide. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida was my initial base for salt water angling prior to doing business in the Cayman Islands where I relocated my 11 Meter Trojan to Georgetown, BWI. in the late 1980s. Twenty years of offshore experience including Scuba Diving businesses in Grand Cayman and Belize, Central America were careers within themselves. However, islands become small and after 20 years, it was time to return to the ‘Great Old USA’, more specifically, Florida to enjoy fishing for a living.
Throughout all of this, my family kept growing with 4 daughters all blessing me with grandchildren ranging from 6 to 24 years. In this mix, is a grandson, Landon Ingram, who loves fishing and has decided to pursue a bass fishing career.
I have salt water fished with Landon over the last several years in Southwest Florida and the Florida Keys, but have had limited opportunities to bass fish with him. None the less, his other grandfather, Joe Ingram of Minnesota, has taken time to introduce him to bass competition in Missouri (Lake of the Ozarks). His father Kyle, has spent time with him at other venues as well.
Last June I made a commitment to travel back home to spend some time fishing with him so as to offer and receive tips on catching bass. We caught some in private lakes and shared techniques and strategies. I offered some marketing and branding strategies to bring awareness to challenges that he will face as he enters the collegiate level.
Landon has been accepted at McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois and will be a member of the University’s Bearcat Bass Fishing Team, as a Bearcat Angler (mckbearcats.com). This team was named the Bass Pro Shops ‘School of The Year’. Over the last 5 years they have placed in the top 5 teams in the nation including last year’ honorees at Number 4. They’re competition and their travel schedule has not been finalized and published at the time of this writing. Congratulations Landon!
Fishing inshore should be good this month, especially for redfish and snook. The bull redfish should continue to move in during this hot month and remain throughout September. I know a lot of anglers prefer pilchards, but I recommend large shrimps, crabs, cut pinfish and ladyfish. The tides will be high at time offering access and more time to enjoy the Backcountry locations which are not as accessible throughout a large part of the year. Snook, larger seatrout, smaller seatrout in 4-6 foot of water on the open grass flats, and mangrove snappers will be in these mangrove and oyster bar locations as well. Just get in there and move until you find the fish. However, for those preferring to catch snook, I suggest fishing beaches, the docks along the passes free-lining Pilchards for best results.
It appears that the redfish population is in good standing based on sightings and catches. They are showing up in good numbers around the mangroves. During high tides Semi-Bay boats may also have access to some of these more productive mangrove areas. Just be sure that you go in and get out on a high summer tide. The caveat is to have some knowledge of the area one intends to fish and the appropriate vessel to get you in and out of there. If you are unsure of where to go and how to get there, I suggest that you hire a redfish guide to take you around and show you, then you should be good to go on your own and catch Redfish.
Longer offshore runs appear to be the key to catching keeper red snapper and larger reef species such as yellowtail, mangroves and lanes. The reports that I am getting is 150 to 180 ft. Closer inshore reefs, wrecks and rubble will produce some Pelagic and smaller species but those wanting the keeper red snapper plan on going deep and taking large pinfish for the bait.