Summer Fishing is Hot!
The weather is hot, but so is the fishing in Central Florida, along the spacecoast. Fishing for Gator Seatrout, Snook, Tarpon and Redfish has been the main focus during the last couple of weeks and they
have not disappointed. While we had some down time due to weather, the pattern has stabilized and it has made for great sight fishing conditions from sunrise to the early afternoon. The water is maintaining decent visibility, although winds and drainage from surrounding runoff ditches can cause some cloudy, muddy conditions; the bad conditions are generally localized to very specific areas, while the remaining locations remain nice.
Since many places are allowing travel again, I have been getting a lot of requests for trips. The main question everyone has been asking: how long should we go out for? I have no wish to take people out for longer than they desire or they can handle, just to make a few extra dollars. I would much rather spend a couple of days fishing with you, less hours each day, than to wear someone out over a full day. In addition, with the heat of the afternoons and our normal thunderstorms returning daily, I will not put my clients in danger of overheating or lightning related injuries. My answer is simple. Let's plan for a half day charter (4 hours). If the fish are chewing well and you are in good shape to continue, we can extend the day to 6 hours or even longer. Honestly, right now we rarely go longer than 6 hours. There is another option that some people love to take advantage of too and that is a nighttime trip. Night trips may limit actual "sight" fishing, but the action is still good. I normally target dock lights on these trips and the seatrout and snook action, along with fish like jacks and ladyfish, can be a blast. There are plenty of options, so give me a call and let's talk about what you want.
This week has been a great week for snook and tarpon. These fish have been providing plenty of action to my customers and making for a lot of gasps and smiles. The tarpon bite was so good the other day that it was hard to leave and try for anything else; but we did and managed a great snook in
the process. We had tons of strikes and got a hook into a few tarpon. Unfortunately none of the hooks stayed in with the explosive fight from the Silver King; still, the smiles I got to see and the awe on the faces of clients when they saw those fish explode was great. As far as snook go, this has been one of the best years yet. We have found fish in our usual locations along docks and seawalls, but they are also in abundant numbers in the backcountry, hiding among the mangroves. Snook have ranged in size from 8 inches to over 40 inches. These brutes have decimated some light tackle and fly offers, leading to choice words being spoken on the bow of the boat. It takes a quick reaction and strong will to fight to keep the fish from returning to cover and breaking you off. The fight is never over until they are boated and then the angler can take a quick breather for a celebration photo. June through August is closed season on snook, so all fishing is catch and release. Regardless of that, it is worth the effort and time to tangle with one of these truly spectacular gamefish.
Summer time is also the perfect time to sight fish Gator Seatrout! Last year was a slow year for this action, as our water levels were high and there was very limited visibility. More times than not, we saw the fish after spooking them and never had a decent shot. This year has been much better, so far. Our tides are still at the levels they should be and the water clarity has remained fair to good. Locating these big fish takes patience, stealth, and keen eyesight. They may be the toughest fish to sight fish in the area, but I love doing it. Delicate presentation are required and so is accuracy. Fly anglers have the upper hand here, especially a fly angler that can cast well. The Gamechanger Shrimp has proven to be extremely effective for these fish and has been my go to fly for them. The undulating action of this fly seems to be irresistible to big trout. For my conventional tackle customers, it is all about using finesse rigs. #zmanfishingproducts have some wonderful finesse rigs for these exact purpose. Rigged with their #Shrimpz lure, these rigs have been wonderful for fooling the trout and the snook. They land soft, remain weedless, and the buoyancy of the lure makes them so lifelike that I rarely use live bait.
I don't want to forget about my redfish. While most anglers love to focus on tarpon and snook right now, redfish are always a fun time. My biggest issue is getting clients to leave the tarpon and snook action before the weather gets too hot and the redfish start to shut down. Yes, this is a good problem to have. Redfish are tailing and backing in the early morning hours and the activity usually remains good until the sun rises up high and the flats get really warm (we hit water temperatures of 90 degrees this past Friday by mid afternoon). Once the water warms up too much, the fish can become difficult.
They are still around, but they are usually laid up, just trying to stay cool and resting until the sun goes down or the rains come along and cool the water. So, if you want to target redfish, please let me know early so we can plan for the best part of the day. Redfish trips can be phenomenal ways to spend the hours just before sunset. Typically our afternoon thunderstorms push through and are gone by 4 or 5 in the afternoon. The few hours after these can be spectacular for sight fishing tailing redfish. Just something to think about when you are planning your trip.
Making a choice of what you want to target can be the most difficult part of planning a trip right now. Call me! I will always give you an honest answer on what is taking place at the time. It could be the tarpon slow down and the redfish bite is better or vice versa. Maybe you have a specific fish that you want; that's ok, I will do everything I can to try and make it happen. Then there are those that just want to enjoy a day on the water and go after anything available. We can do that too.
Call now to book your trip or ask questions: 386-314-5998
Prefer to Email: Captainjohn@tailhunteroutdooradventures.com