Capt. Roan zumFelde
August in Southwest Florida 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. Just we 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 around. 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.
This month is one of the best for early morning top water baits like your Heddon Zara Spook or Rapala Skitterwalks. I like the HJB fly this month and especially the Uncle Foamy (see Fly of the Month). But anything top water like a gurgler or various poppers should work well early and late.
Canal fishing should be very good especially at the various weirs that should have plenty of water running over them or through them; Golden Gate has them or for the more adventuresome sort check out the ones on the Faka Union Canal. 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.
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