Redfish and Snook and Tarpon, Oh My!
Man-oh-man, it is great to be a resident of the west coast of Florida right now! The heat that drives the snowbirds away is the same heat that’s firing up the bite on the Gulf coast. As I mentioned in last month’s article, the redfish bite will never be better in our region than the dog days of summer, and the method couldn’t be simpler. Cut bait, dead stick, bait and wait; whatever you want to call it–it works. Grab yourself a mullet, ladyfish, threadfin or pinfish and trim it up into an inch or two piece, and freeline it into the mangroves on the higher tides or out on the flat in the lower tides right in front of the schooling fish. Pinfish work best in my region, because our flats are loaded with pinfish and, generally speaking, pinfish don’t eat pinfish. That allows your bait to stay out a bit longer without having the good parts eaten by the pinfish. Remember, if you’re hot, they’re hot. You don’t want to have to chase around your food in 90-degree heat and they don’t want to chase it in 90-degree water. Cut bait makes an easy meal for them that they don’t have to work for, and they will show their appreciation to you for making it easy for them.
The snook bite is in full force with the higher water temps, and they are starting to make their way out onto the beaches in great numbers (and sizes). Want to know the other thing the beaches will be loaded with when it’s hot? Boats full of party people. So, try to get there early or late, and avoid those crowds if you’re going to Anclote Key; or, fish the west side of the island where there aren’t many people, but be mindful of the surf on the sporty days. They love to eat a large pilchard, mullet, ladyfish, grunt or croaker and if it gets really warm cut any of those in half and lay it up there in front of them. This is a great way to catch trophy fish on lighter gear, because there won’t be any docks to break you off and it makes for a great visual.
The tarpon have shown up early and in great numbers this year in our region. The pass between Anclote Key and Anclote sandbar is a hot spot for big migratory fish feasting on the massive schools of threadies. You can sabiki some threadies to use for them, but pass crabs and dead baits work well, too. Night time and early mornings are ideal, due to the aforementioned party people; but, this area offers a great reprieve from the chaos of Tampa Bay, and you can catch the same quality fish. Bailey’s Bluff will also hold schools of fish that are a great fight in six feet of water, as long as you catch them before July when scallop season will put an end to fishing the bluff!