Walk The Dog For Big Trout And Reds

Red Hot Temps = Awesome Redfishing
Report Date: June 29, 2008

WhooHoo!!! Boy is it hot out there. With air temperatures’ running in the low 90’s and water temps hovering close to 89-90 degrees early mornings and late evenings have been where the best bites are at. Lately, my clients and I have been leaving the “world famous” dock of Pete’s Pier Marina around 6:00-6:30 a.m. in the morning. These early departures have been great for beating the heat and the late afternoon storms that pop up from time-to-time along our coast. With such early departures throwing Topwater lures for healthy Gator Trout.


Quentin did an excellent job of Walking-the-Dog to land this big 20
and Redfish has been an excellent way to start our mornings.

On a few recent charters my clients and I have been targeting Big Trout in 3 foot of water or less during the early morning hours and have been rewarded with tons of keepers including a few whoppers. I throw a ton of topwater lures throughout the year but in my opinion for the action and fish durability the Rapala Skitterwalk and Heddons Zara Spook are tough to beat. The walk the dog action drives the fish nuts and even when a fish hits the lure and misses it, the action still drives the fish back for a second look. There are tons of colors to choose from but I like most of the patterns that resemble a pinfish or mullet, basically because that is their primary food source anyways.

On the Redfish scene, the early mornings have been great for finding big schooling reds way inside the backcountry. I have been throwing the same topwaters along with baits ranging from cut mullet and pinfish to live select shrimp. Basically, I have been matching the size of the bait to the size of the fish I am targeting. The reds I have been catching have all ranged from 18-32 inches with a few big schools of smart fish way over 30 inches.


Dawn Crawley spent her 10th Anniversary with Red Hot Fishing Charters and was rewarded with a beautiful 27

I guess that’s why their in schools because they are sure smart and finicky! Regardless, I plan on pursuing this school of fish in the next couple weeks with an eight weight and few Borski fly’s so stay tuned.

If long drag screaming runs and topwater explosions are what get your blood boiling give Red Hot Fishing Charters a call today, we are in the “Fishing Memories Business.”

Capt. Kyle Messier
(352) 634-4002
kylemessier@yahoo.com
WWW.REDHOTFISHINGCHARTERS.COM

Summer Snook Tactics

Tampa Fishing Report for Tampa Bay
July 2, 2008

Snook fishing has been excellent for the last month, largely due to the tighter regulations imposed over the last few years. Although many anglers would like to take home a few more snook dinners, it a great feeling to catch an over slot fish, take a picture, release it and know that this fish is protected and will continue to produce offspring for the rest of it's days. These summer snook have taken up residence in their normal "warm weather" locations in and around major passes. As all experienced snook anglers know though, it’s not so much knowing where these fish are as it is knowing when they will bite. As a general rule, these feeding times are the first two hours in the morning before and after sunrise and on the outgoing tide. Also, some of the largest fish are caught at night for those who don't mind missing a few hours of sleep, as snook are somewhat nocturnal by nature. Whether using whitebait, grass grunts or ladyfish, the key is a natural presentation. Start by getting "uptide" of where the fish are believed to be. Next, cast the bait out and then open the bail so that line can be fed out, as needed, so the bait drifts through the "snook zone" in a realistic, unrestricted fashion. When a fish strikes, a distinct "tick" will be felt. By using the newer braided line, it is much easier to feel this "tick". If the fish feels the hook, it will take off on a powerful run. If it does not, it will simply sink back to the bottom. Simply reel down on a fish that doesn't run and, when you feel weight, set the hook. If using circle hooks, which you should for all catch and release fishing, the hook set is unnecessary. As the line tightens up, the hook will lodge in the corner of the fish's mouth, and the fight is on. Fishing should stay hot well into July and then, as August approaches, these fish will become harder to catch during day light hours...becoming even more nocturnal.

Redfishing was equally hot well into June but has cooled a little bit in the last few weeks. With little rain until this past week, and warm temperatures, it seems some of the redfish schools moved off of the flats that they normally inhabit. This should be a temporary situation however as, using last year as a reference, redfishing held up pretty well throughout the summer. With the recent heavy rains and strong tides the first week in July, new groups of fish could show up any day. Look for these summer reds in all of their normal haunts...around docks, along mangroves shorelines and out in the flats in association with mullet. Although this sounds obvious, simply finding redfish is the key as they will typically eat when you do. With this in mind, lay out an itinerary of redfish spots so that you can work fast and effectively. If you set up on a spot and they don't bite in fifteen or twenty minutes, go to the next one. You may fish half a dozen spots on some days before you find you first fish, but on the seventh spot, you may catch a dozen, so keep moving. Like anything else, a successful redfish trip is often the result of hard work and persistence. Redfish are more than happy to eat the whitebait that so many anglers use to catch snook, but pinfish, cut or whole, as well as a variety of cut baits, will work just fine.

In targeting summer trout, some quality fish can be found on the beaches and in the passes. These fish are often caught in the pursuit of snook however, and are not targeted near as much as in the winter months, when greater numbers of large trout are present.

Good luck and good fishing.

Captain Stewart Ames US
Coast Guard Licensed Captain
Member Florida Guides Association
www.tampa-fishing-charters.com
sames001@tampabay.rr.com
727-421-5291

© 2007 Captain Stewart Ames, Gone Fishing Charters, Tampa, FL 727-421-5291

Indian River Lagoon Coast Forecast 7-'08

Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Forecast, July 2008

Compliments of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka Florida

Summertime has officially arrived on the space coast, as the mid summer doldrums are currently among us. It's also the time of year when tropical weather systems and offshore water temperatures are as predictable as Wall Street. Just when you think you've got things figured out, a summer squall will blow in and kick up the seas, or the cold water Labrador Current will move in and shut down the seaward bite. Setting all these possibilities aside, many opportunities for angling adventures exist for us both inside and outside on the Lagoon Coast in July.

Near-shore, kingfish will be the staple on the reefs and wrecks in 70 to 90 feet of water, with a mixed bag of three, wahoo, dolphin, and an occasional sailfish, thrown in. My preferred method for targeting these species is slow trolling live bait (pogies) on steel stinger rigs dresses with King Duster skirts.

On the Port Canaveral buoy line and along the beaches, an assorted beach bag is available with smoker kings (large king mackerel), silver kings (tarpon), cobia, sharks, and colossal jacks all available at any given time. To target these species, focus your attention in areas of bait concentrations. This past week, pods of large tarpon and sharks were located between Patrick AFB and Satellite Beach. As the month progresses, these fish should begin moving north along the beach to their favorite summertime haunt in the forbidden zone off the bight of the Cape.

In the Port and inlets, Spanish mackerel, summer flounder and mangrove snapper number should remain steady. To target the flounder and snapper, try using Rip Tide's new realistic shrimp on a ¼ to ½ ounce jig head in the areas of structure and along sandy drop-offs. Cast the jig as close to the structure as possible without getting snagged, and let it sink to the bottom. Once it's reached the bottom, slowly drag it back letting it rest every foot or so.

Inshore, July is the best time of the year to catch redfish in shallow water. Large schools have already started forming up, and the sight of 200 feeding redfish is mind-boggling. Once you've finished drooling over redfish, look for snook, and top water snapper along mangrove edges, and juvenile tarpon in the creeks, canals and backwaters. In deeper water, look for ladyfish and small trout to be shadowing schools of bay anchovies (glass minnows) under clouds of feeding terns.

As always, if you have any questions or need information, please contact me.

Good luck and good fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn
captain@irl-fishing.com
www.irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085 landline
407-416-1187 on the water
866-790-8081 toll free

Switching Baits Can Produce More Fish

Fishing Report 06/29/2008 – Capt. Terry Frankford

Angler's aboard the Reelin & Chillin have been catching, trout, redfish, mangrove snapper, pompano, permit, and bluefish, to name a few more popular species.

When I have the time to cover many of my favorite locations, sooner or later one or more of these will produce. This proved true with four angler's out on a full day trip. We would hit a spot, fish for a few minutes, if we had action we would stay - if not we would move on. All angler's managed a respectable catch, Andria started off with a nice trout around eighteen inches caught just at the north end of Quick Pt. where the flats met with the channel. Working our way north fishing grass flats and picking up a few fish along the way we ended up at Long Bar. We saw hundreds of mullet feeding and cast to them. Kristan, Andria, and Michelle all managed to pull a redfish from the school. Working our way back south we ran some crab trap buoy's. A triple tail was spotted - Nate placed a live shrimp just a few feet from the trap and the fish bit. A nice four pound triple tail made for a great battle on light tackle. We stuck to live hand-picked shrimp, and Berkley Gulps for bait on this trip.

It's always nice to find a great spot that produces big fish consistently, it happens often, unfortunately these spots only stay hot for a week or two, then the fish move on. I was lucky enough to find one just spot to put my anglers on, it was fantastic while it lasted. I managed to make it work for several trips over a two week period. The trip with Bob Cooper and family was the normal trip for a couple weeks. Using only ten pound test line Bob picked up a thirty inch redfish - Riley a twenty-three, Keith a twenty-seven, and Cullen with the big boy of the day a thirty-four inch red. Did I fish the hole out? Is this why there were no more reds after a couple weeks? The answer is NO - the reason is ninety percent of the fish were over the twenty-seven inch limit and released. Also, if I knew of a spot like this and my angler's were on a meat mission, I would only take them there if they agreed on keeping one or two fish. It's just not fair to all of us to wipe out a great spot just for dinner.

Bob Cooper's 30" redfish

Plenty of trout, bluefish, and a few pompano to be found on the grass flats in north Sarasota Bay around Whale Key. Look for diving birds working the bait and you should hook up with no problem. Live shrimp work, however they go quick. Any kind of shiner you can net will also work - good luck finding any big enough to put on a hook. Lot's of bait around, all small. Berkley Gulps work great, just about any color, white and penny are my favorites. D.O.A. shrimp are also a great choice.

Captain's Tip - shrimp today, pins tomorrow

When it's working it's great. I found a spot with oversize redfish, using live hand-picked shrimp for bait. I was catching several per trip consistently. Then one day nothing - my shrimp were being devoured by small snapper and pinfish. I thought maybe the fish moved on, then I looked over the side of the boat and noticed silver dollar size pinfish flashing in the grass. One throw of the cast net brought a dozen pins, and grunts. Making this story short as short as possible. The reds bit for a little over a week on big shrimp then wouldn't touch one. For the next week and a half they devoured pins and grunts - go figure. This tells me that I need to head out with several different baits when possible, and to adapt if necessary. When fishing with two or more anglers, switch up baits, one with a shrimp, one with a pin, and maybe even one with a chunk of cut mullet. All will catch reds at one point in time, and all will not catch reds at one point in time. Just think, if I would have arrived at this spot when the fish weren't interested in the shrimp - I would have caught nothing and never came back. That's about forty oversize reds on several trips that my anglers would have missed out on.

Tight Lines & Good Times,

Capt. Terry Frankford
Reelin & Chillin Charters Inc.
941-228-7802
www.charterfishingsarasota.com terry.frankford@verizon.net

Capt. Terry Frankford
941/228-7802
terry.frankford@verizon.net
www.charterfishingsarasota.com
www.naturetourflorida.com

Siesta Key Tarpon On Fly

Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Report for 6/16 through 6/29/08

Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, jumped and landed several tarpon during the past couple of weeks. We were plagued with west wind for a few days during the week of June 16th, which caused us to fish the bay a couple of days. Jim Ewoldt, from St. Louis, MO, and Bob Maddocks, from AZ, fished with me from June 16 through 18. Jim hooked up briefly with a tarpon on a black and purple Enrico Puglisi fly off Lido Key on Tuesday. The wind turned to the west on Wednesday forcing us into the bay. Jim caught and released trout, ladyfish and bluefish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies near Bishops Point. Gary and Garret Visser, from Charleston, SC, fished with me on June 19th. After a 2-hour rain delay in the morning, we poked our nose into the gulf and found conditions not too bad. However, it didn’t last long. We worked a few schools of tarpon and then the wind switched to the west forcing us into the bay. The action wasn’t fast, but they caught and released trout on DOA Deadly Combos and CAL jigs with shad tails at the Marina Jack Flat and near Longboat Key Moorings.

Capt. Rick Grassett caught and released this estimated 90-pound tarpon on a tan shrimp fly while fishing off Lido Key. Rusty Chinnis photo.

Fly angler Glenn Maddalon, from Danville, CA, tarpon fished with me Friday, Saturday and Monday. He landed a feisty 60-pounder on a black and red bunny fly with bead chain eyes off Lido Key. It was the perfect fish to catch late in the day- a couple of jumps, one long run and then back on the fly line and landed in about 30-minutes. A spin angler fishing with me had a couple of bites and one hook up with a tarpon off Siesta Key on a live crab on Tuesday, June 24th. Tarpon in shallow water were very spooky, spooking on dark flies that were cast as far as 20-feet away from fish.

I had a chance to stand on the bow on Wednesday when Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, fished with me. After several fish spooking on dark and chartreuse flies, we switched to a small tan shrimp pattern. I had a head on shot at a single that pounced on the fly the first time I cast it. I got the fish, an estimated 90-pounder, to the boat in about 35 or 40-minutes. My first of the season! A strong line of thunderstorms chased us off the water early on Thursday. The rest of the week had numerous shots at tarpon with flies, but no eats. Visibility was poor, so many of the fish were on top of us before we could see them, making it tough.

Tarpon will probably thin out as we head away from Tuesday’s new moon, but should resume their normal patterns later in the week. I usually tarpon fish most of July, which offers some of the best fly fishing action of the season for tarpon.
Tight Lines,

Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com