It’s the heart of summer here in west Florida, which means heat. With temperatures well into the 90’s morning fishing is a must. Our inshore guides have been starting early and playing the tides has been paying off with Redfish, Snook and Trout among other things. The redfish action has been excellent as they are schooled up allowing anglers consistent action using mainly live bait. While these fish aren’t huge, the numbers of them make up for it. The Trout bite has been best early and on the highest tides. This has been a great year for trout as far as numbers and size is concerned. Live bait has been the go to along with soft plastics and jigs. The Snook bite has been good along the beaches and passes but the west winds lately have put a damper on targeting them. This pattern of wind looks to stop by next week allowing the snook fishing to fire back up.
On the deep sea fishing scene, Amberjack, Gag Grouper, Mangrove Snapper and Red Grouper have been the main target for our 8 and 10 hour charters. This hasn’t been the best year for Amberjack as far as size is concerned, the numbers are there but the bigger fish in the 40 plus pound range haven’t showed up yet. On the other hand the Grouper and Mangrove Snapper fishing has been great along with Yellowtail Snapper on the deep trips. For the 1/2 and 3/4 day charters, we’re targeting Grunt, Hogfish and Grouper, however with the water temperatures high getting keeper size grouper on these trips can prove difficult. Although tons of light tackle action and several species to catch makes for a great day regardless of what’s in season to keep. Often our charters that just want to keep enough fish for a dinner or two are rewarded with the most keepers, especially on the 1/2 day trips. Regardless of which fishing charter you choose this time of year there’s plenty of action and options for everyone.