By: Capt Roan zumFelde
August in SWFL is not always a pleasant month to fish. Wet, buggy, and unbelievably hot does not make us want to jump out of bed and go running to the water. But for you intrepid die hard anglers there are still plenty of fish to catch. We all need to be smart about our fishing this month. Get up early and get on the water early, the best bite, no matter fishing fresh or saltwater is going to be first light to two or three hours after. Last light in the evening should have the same affect. Bring bug repellent for both adventures. Take a nap at midday in the nice cool A/C. If you are fishing the evenings, wait for the thunderstorms to pass. Catching a fish is not worth getting electrocuted, plus the fish aren’t feeding when the thunder is rolling. After the afternoon storms the fish will get more active, due to the cool rain and the added oxygen in the water. It is also a lot nicer out when the rains have cooled everything down a bit.
Early and late bites are going to be the ticket for all of the SWFL waters this month. Top water plugs on the lakes early and late and flipping and pitching heavy cover as the sun rises higher in the sky. This is also a good month to find early schooling activity on the lakes. Keep your eyes scanning the waters even if you are fishing heavy cover, this may just clue you in on something you can try. Most of the school fish will be chasing shad, so some type of shad imitation on either your fly rods or a spin or a long casting rod that you can fling a long distance should do the trick.
The canals, especially across Hwy 41 toward Miami, should have good fishing this month for all the cichlid species, including peacock bass. You can walk many of them and or take your smaller outboard boats. Many of these canals have good edge that can be fished even with high water. Check maps and see where you can put in; the state also will have some listed on their websites and have maps at the county offices. Just get out and explore a little, you never know what you will find. Golden Gate Canal has been fishing pretty well, some grass issues but lots of peacocks and tarpon activity, early and late. Good Luck and Good casting.
Come visit Mike and me at Mike’s Bait house and Indian Pass Outfitters on Danford Street, next to Bayview Park in Naples and we can talk fishing. We carry a full line of tackle including: fly fishing needs and both saltwater and freshwater gear, food, drink, and bait. Thanks and good fishing. Roan z