I spoke with Pat at Dunedin Fishing Center in Dunedin today. He tells me that snook and tarpon are 'on fire' on the beaches from Sand Key to Anclote Key. With air temperatures and water temperatures being near there summer highs, the best time to fish will be from 6pm - 9am. Water temperatures will cool slightly during these hours, stimulating fish to feed. Snook are in the first swash channel, (where the water breaks onto the sand), on the beach. They will also be in the passes where the current ebbs off into calmer water. The best bait will be the largest pinfish you can find. Pinfish can be caught from docks and bridges using a sabiki style rig baited with pieces of shrimp or squid. Rig your rod with at least 3ft of 30lb test fluorocarbon leader and a hook that matches the size of your bait. Remember, snook season is closed for the summer so all snook caught must be released. Please, bend down the barbs on your hooks to make releasing the fish easier on you and the fish. With the full moon this last weekend, lots of blue crabs and pass crabs are being flushed through area passes on the out going tides. Tarpon are staging outside the passes looking for an easy meal. Take advantage of this by anchoring near a pass on the outgoing tide and fishing a spread of crabs on the bottom and under a float. Redfish are holding under mangroves at high tide. A large shrimp flipped under the mangroves is the best way to catch these reds right now, but the shrimp will be migrating offshore over the next couple of weeks and will be hard to come by. Gold spoons are the summer standard for redfish. The Berkley Gulp Shrimp and the DOA Shrimp also work well. For more information contact;
Dunedin Fishing Center
727-738-5628
243 Bayshore Blvd
Dunedin, FL 34698
