The black water is pushing down into the Harbor. Our summer afternoon rain pattern is in full swing. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. For the sight casters, it makes things a little more difficult. For the bait fisherman it has the opposite effect. Those fish that you weren’t able to get close to will become much easier in the stained waters. Throw out a few chum baits, and its game on. When the water stains up, I like to do a lot of fan casting with artificials. Try to cover as much water as possible and use lures that work well in a fast retrieve. I like to throw a gold spoon during this time of year. When you locate feeding fish in an area, then try something that you can fish slower, such as a soft plastic.
The Snook bite has been very good. We have had days with some really nice fish. A couple days ago we had four fish over 35″ and a lot more that were under 30″. This is the time of year when Snook are spawning so it is a catch and release fishery. Long open shorelines with a grass and sand bottom have been holding good numbers of fish. Also look for moving water, high outgoing tides have been the most productive for me.
For the dinner fisherman, the Mangrove Snapper bite has been excellent. The rains have darkened the water up enough to turn these guys on. Also the bait hatch has helped a lot. Deep mangrove shorelines have been holding good numbers of fish. Also the deeper potholes on the flats will be an area you should not look over. On the lower tides, outside bars are some of my favorite places to locate these guys. I recommend using 20# fluorocarbon leader, and a #1 circle hook.
Tarpon have made their way into the harbor. After this tropical storm we had, the Harbor has been loaded with Tarpon. On my recent charters we have been putting plenty of fish in the air. A couple days ago we hooked nine and got five to the boat. We have been hooking multiple fish on all of our charters. Most of the fish have been over 75-lbs with some well over a 100-lbs. Cam Robinson got a monster today that was pushing that 200-lbs mark. Threadfins fished 4-6’ under a float has been working the best. Make sure you get plenty bait, the Sailcats worked us hard today. Early mornings while the winds are down is the best time to locate these guys. Keep your eyes open for fish rolling.
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