by Capt. Aaron Kelly, Rock Solid Fishing
Hot weather and hot water makes fishing in the middle of the day well…not so hot. Get out early or fish late to enjoy seeing an uptick in fishing activity. Mackerel and blues will bite early then seem to just slow down to a pick after 8am. Trolling spoons or casting stingsilvers seem to be the primary way to catch these guys. Look for bait slicks up in the grass flats and that will point you to redfish or puppy drum – same fish just different name. Generally, we call ‘em puppy drum for 16-28 inch fish around here but bigger ones 28-50” we call drum. If you are wading or drifting around grass flats, look for the showering of small baitfish and shrimp. These could put you into contact with a beautiful speckled trout. A lot of folks like to surf fish this time of year while the kids build a sandcastle. Grab a light surf rod, some fresh shrimp, bloodworms, sandfleas, and or mullet. You may encounter many different types of species like seamullet, flounder, pompano, puppy drum, and croaker just to name a few. You would be amazed at how tossing a piece of mullet will get you one fish and a little sandflea on a gold hook in the wash will get you something entirely different. Stop by one of our many local owner operated tackle shops that are a wealth of information and gear and get rigged up! Enjoy these beautiful outdoors!