AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2017: REDFISH ON FIRE !

The color of August was RED - Red fish that is !!  That was the main target for August into September.  The big schools showed up, and they were hungry!  Live shrimp, pinfish, and fresh cut mullet all did the trick, it didn't seem to matter when they were feeding.  From Yankeetown to Bayport, all the keys and islands were holding fish with many in the oversized range.  In fact, in some schools it was hard to find a keeper.

 

With the speckled trout action being slow these past few months, the bite turned back on in August.  Your favorite color jig under a popping cork supplied the best action.  Working the hard bottom in 2-4' of water with a slow presentation kept a bend in our rods.  Hard bottom consists of yellow patches with sponges and kelp grass.  The big trout love it !  Watermelon red glitter "Little John" has been my favorite go-to color.

Around the same area as the trout, the red fish like the snook have made that their home.  These fish can be extremely picky, but when the tide is right they are a blast to catch.  Similar baits as for trout work just as well, but also try gold spoons and jigs with no cork.

Offshore, the rocks are still producing some nice grouper action, along with grunts and mangrove snapper.  The best grouper bite has been in the 20' range, but many keepers have been caught in the 8-12' shallow rock piles.  Casting plugs or pinfish on the bottom was all that was needed along with a strong arm to pull them away from the rocks !  Also, the Spanish Mackerel are making their presence known as evidenced by a missing hook as well as bait when you retrieve your line.

Scallop season ended on Sept 24th.  Even with the water being a little dirty from Hurricane Irma, we still managed to get out on the water and do some gathering. 

Again, thanks to all my friends and guests for many awesome days on the water these past couple months.  Now I'm looking forward to some great fall fishing.   Capt Mark