The fishing so far this Summer has been almost as hot as the weather! This is without a doubt my favorite time of year to fish! Why? Variety! You can catch just about everything this time of year. Tarpon, snook, redfish, trout, snapper, cobia, tripletail and big sharks have all been caught recently. If you haven’t ever fished in Southwest Florida this time of year get ready for some rod bending action!
Tarpon have been very cooperative. I have had some really good days recently chasing these big boys. Most of the fish are in the 75-100 pound range but I have hooked a few well over 150 lbs. Live bait, such as ladyfish and threadfin, have been getting plenty of strike but don’t forget to bring some artificial. DOA Baitbusters and swim baits have both been getting the job done. If you really want to have some fun try throwing a Mirrolure Top Dog first thing in the morning! The strikes are amazing!
Snook season just opened on September 1st and they are biting really well. I have been catching a ton of fish in the 18″-26″ range with a few fish over the 40″ mark and weighing over 20 lbs. Remember the slot is 28″-33″ on Florida’s west coast and you are only allowed to keep 1 fish per angler. The 2016 Snook season will remain open until December 1st.
Redfish have just started to school up for their annual spawn and they are really chewing well. Most of the schools I am seeing are still fairly small with about 20-30 fish but I am expecting to start seeing some really big groups of fish in the near future. I am averaging 10-20 fish a trip. Most of the fish are in the 22′-26′ range but I have had some really nice reds over 35″ on recent trips.
Then there’s the mixed bag. Can you say fish tacos? If you like to eat fish now is the time to go! Tripletail continue to make a showing as well as some really nice Gag Grouper and mangrove snapper. Trout are also hitting fairly well so getting some nice fish to eat has been pretty easy.
Hope you enjoyed reading this and as always…..
Catch Fish, No Excuses!
