The bite remains hot but so is the water temps, we are experiencing some of the warmest water I have seen in 30 years fishing Southwest Florida. Through it all the fishing is phenomenal, mangrove snapper limits every trip and plenty of redfish and trout to go around. Snook are hanging around as well as they spend their time on the beaches and passes during their spawn. As fall approaches we will start to see those snook move back in to the mangrove islands and begin seeing huge numbers of redfish as they begin their spawn. I say all of this to emphasize the fishing will only get better and better. Baitfish are still small but the pinfish and cut ladyfish have given us opportunities to get big fish to eat. We need cooler temps to ensure water quality improves and the fish do not get too stressed but until then we will keep catching them up.

We are having a lot of fun out there in the big schools of redfish, these fish are hungry and are most likely beefing up for the upcoming spawn. Redfish begin their spawning season in the fall and right now they are beginning to clump together in their schools they will likely ride out the spawn with. It has been a fisherman’s dream on the flats, the particular school we have fished are the same ones I have come back to for the last two weeks giving us a bit of an unfair advantage. The fish vary in size from lower slot (20 inch) to some of the bulls with our biggest one tipping the scale at 34 inches, a true beast. The fish are so plentiful we have been able to camp out on the school and fish them for two hours or longer catching one after another. Their bait of choice lately has been pinfish or cut lady fish chunks. Aside from the redfish we have been catching a good number of mangrove snapper, bottom fishing, pitching mangrove lines, docks, you name it they are there. These fish have made their grand return to the inshore waters and they are hungry. To catch these wise fish we lower our leader size to around 20 lbs, smaller hook and they have been happy eating the greenbacks we have been netting. It’s the most fun you’ll have on the water right now and should only get better leading into fall given we have good conditions and clean water.

What a spectacular redfish bite we’ve had the last few weeks. We are catching high numbers and large size giving us some crazy good fights and some huge smiles from customers. We are catching these reds mostly in deeper quick flowing waters with pin fish under a one ounce sinker to keep the bait from getting flushed out with the current. 4/0 circle hooks have been our best bet and heavier leader around 40 lb in most cases. Our bait is smaller right now and very susceptible to dying quick in the well with warmer water, therefore I’ve had to cut back on quantity and focus on quality bait, throwing back some of our smaller white bait and loading up on pinfish. The pinfish will last longer in the livewell and will allow for longer time on the hooks. Snook and trout have also been good on these warmer days fishing beaches, passes and grass flats.