Rain has been in the forecast here in Florida the last few weeks. The Peace River is very high and all of its tributaries such as Horse Creek are dumping plenty of freshwater. The past few weeks the waters in Charlotte Harbor have become darkened due to this. I often hear comments about how dirty the water is. Well actually the water is not dirty. It’s stained from the foliage and the freshwater runoff, think of it as a big glass of tea. Even with the darkening of the water, the fishing has been very good.
Snook fishing has been very good the past couple weeks. On the higher tides the mangrove shorelines and points adjacent to open flats or deep water have been producing very well. Live sardines fished free lined have been getting the best bites. On the lower tides, potholes on the flats and along bars have been holding good numbers of Snook also.
Redfish has been the black sheep this year. All that should be changing with fall around the corner. During this time of year the Reds begin to school. During the lower tides the flats and bars are great places to locate schooling fish. Stealth is the key for this type of fishing. Get ahead of the schools and let them come to you. If possible, chumming the water will help to get the fish in a feeding frenzy.
The Trout and Mangrove Snapper fishing has been excellent. We have been catching good numbers of Trout along the bars and deeper flats. Focus on the flats with broken up bottom, a mixture of sand and grass. The Snapper have been good along the deeper shorelines with good moving water. On the lower tides the potholes have been holding good numbers of fish. For the Trout drifting is good way to locate feeding fish. Once you found some feeding fish work that area and depth. For the Snapper cut some bait up into little pieces for chum. Toss them out in the area your fishing, not too much though you don’t want to fill them up.
With fall approaching look for the fishing to only get better. If you would like to experience some of Charlotte Harbor’s finest fishing give me a call or send me an email. All of our charters are private and customized to fit you and your party’s needs.
