The beach fishing should heat up along with the weather in July once this winds die down and we can get out. Warmer temps bring more bait along the beaches and the false albacore, tarpon, snook, redfish and jacks should be abundant from Melbourne beach south to the Inlet and down through Vero Beach. Fish the bait pods using D.O.A. Bait Busters or MirrOlure Lil Johns on a 1/2 ounce jig head as well as live mullet and pinfish and, if you are into hard baits, the Rapala X-Rap 14s are good for the gamefish. Fish the Baitbusters deep and the X-Raps for the fish staying close to the surface. Snook will be in the trough close to the beaches hanging on the bait pods as well. Best bet for the snook is live bait or a smaller profile hard bait such as Rapala’s X-Rap 10 or SubWalk. Greenies, pinfish and pigfish rigged on a 6/0 VMC circle hook will all produce snook.
The creeks from Melbourne to Sebastian will be a good place for anglers looking to target snook, tarpon, jacks and sharks this month. The Sebastian River, Turkey Creek, Crane Creek and the Eau Gallie River will be good early in the mornings for anglers using artificial baits. Great topwater baits to throw early morning and evenings are SkitterWalks in the mullet pattern, and D.O.A. TerrorEyz are great deep water baits. Suspending baits to try are the Rapala Twitchin’ Mullet and Twitchin’ Minnow. Bait fishermen targeting snook and tarpon can find success using live finger mullet on a 5/0 to 7/0 VMC circle hook rigged with 30-50 lb. leader depending on the size of the tarpon.
The bite in the early morning and late evenings along the mangrove shorelines and the flats should be good for big trout, reds and snook. Topwater action should be solid, and as the sun comes up switch to suspending baits or live baits. Live pinfish, pilchards, croakers and pigfish are the baits of choice to entice the fish early.
The tarpon will also move into the Indian River Lagoon from Sebastian to Melbourne and can be found around bait pods in the ICW as well as deeper areas that hold bait. Early morning and late evening are the best times to target the tarpon, with jacks and sharks mixed in.
Keep your eye out for afternoon storms as they will come out of nowhere and can bring high winds and kick up the seas in a hurry.
Capt. Glyn Austin
Going Coastal Charters
www.goingcoastalcharters.com
321-863-8085
