Rains Cool Waters a Bit, Fishing Heats Up!

Fishing action has been on an upswing from a few weeks ago when the summer heat was limiting action to strictly a sunrise and sunset bite. We have had plenty of rain in the area that has helped cool the inshore waters just enough to make the fish a bit more active. The live bait has also come back in better numbers and are considerably larger than previous weeks. The snook fishing has been decent in the passes and along the outside beaches. We have taken quite a few on plugs, swim baits and flies as well as live pilchards. I have been doing some sight fishing along shallow edges as well as along the beach and getting plenty of shots at fish ranging to 27 inches. I spent one morning with fly fisherman Art Nudell of New York, NY. Art hooked and released several snook to 26 inches using Clouser Minnow patterns as well as a small white streamer. We found waves of snook in Gordon's Pass at sunrise gorging themselves on baitfish schools. They were selective about what flies they took but after a few changes, we found a little Clouser did the trick. Later in the morning, we were able to sight fish at low tide along some mangrove shorelines and sandy beach areas and score with the white streamer fly. The high morning tides this week have been just the ticket for catching a few redfish. We had success with schools of lower slot redfish along flooded mangrove shorelines and oyster bars using live baits. Several upper slot fish in the 25 to 27 inch range were mixed in. Once the tide drops for an hour or so, the fish seem to drop out and the bite is done. I just received some outstanding photos taken by client Paul Tennyson last week. He was on the camera while his partner Joe Reggi fought and boated a large tarpon on an evening trip mentioned in my last report. Paul was able to capture some outstanding jump shots I would like to share…{%image_id=22355%}{%image_id=22356%}{%image_id=22357%} My shark fishing expeditions have continued to be popular and we are having success on each trip. Andrew Walton of Toronto fished solo on Wednesday morning. He found himself hooked up on a 6 foot lemon shark within the first ten minutes of having baits in the water. He had numerous runs and brief hookups for the next couple hours and boated a second lemon of about the same size. The action slowed after the tide turned as if someone turned off the feeding switch. We had a great time with these hard fighters. Andrew brings a feisty shark along the boat…{%image_id=22354%} With the great popularity of my summer shark trips, I have decided to continue to offer a nice discount for half day shark excursions past the August deadline and offer the savings until Sept. 15. I recommend getting on the schedule soon, as I am getting busy and there are only a few more weeks left to take advantage of the offer! Please visit my website for rates and details. - Capt. Todd Geroy