JUNE/2016 - Fishing has been great the last few months, with Tarpon fishing being one of the best years we have had in a long time. But now as the water temperature is getting up there, you are going to have to change a few things around. Like fishing very early or latter in the day and staying away from the afternoon heat of the day. The fish are just like us, they will find a cooler spot to wait out the hot time of the day, like under the mangrove bushes or in deeper water. The Tarpon are still around in good numbers. Look around the sandy areas around Anclote Island and on the beach side. You will find them rolling early in the mornings on the beach. Target them with the trolling motor and use pin fish under a cork or thread fin under a cork. A good way to hook up is to watch them for a while and see which way they are moving and get ahead of them and have the bait already out in front waiting for them.
May means love bugs and to the serious angler, Tarpon time. Yes folks for the next few months Tarpon will be the target of choice. Tarpon will show up in our area around the first full moon but you will start seeing some of them earlier. The key to fishing for Tarpon in our area is best early in the morning. Yes for those of you that like to get a late start, you missed the prime time for them.
It’s that time of the year, when you need to have all your chores done because the fishing is just going to keep getting better. Nothing worse than, it’s Saturday morning with great weather perfect tides and you have to stay home to finish your chores while your buddy’s are out catching fish.
Well the cold weather finally moved in last month. With that the fish have moved into their winter spots. The Trout bite has been very good this year on artificials. Now is the time to bring the kids out fishing. These winter months are the best time to take kids fishing. When you find the Trout schools, it is nothing to have 50+ fish days. This is great for the little ones with a very short attention span. There is nothing better than to watch a kid fighting a fish that feels like a Whale them. Yes sometimes they do have more fun playing in the bait well with all the bait, but you have to agree, if you don’t enjoy watching a child fighting a fish you need to you rethink life itself.
Hopefully by the time this report is out the weather has turned back to normal. Last month’s hot days definitely changed the fish’s patterns around. Most of the fish were starting to move into their normal November spots until the heat wave came. I was fishing inshore with the water temps around 75 degrees in the beginning of November then after the first week of 85-90 degree temps the water climbed back up to around the 85 degree mark, moving everything around.
If this month’s weather is anything like last month, the fishing will be awesome. The water temps should get to the magic numbers and it will be game on. This is the time of the year that the area is covered with Spanish mackerel. Look around the north and south ends of Anclote Island for them. Just remember to use a long shank hook to help with getting cut off. You can use a small wire leader to help with the cut offs. But sometimes they can get finicky and not bite the line with the leader. Artificials work well to; it just needs to be something with a flash to it like a silver spoon. The key to using the artificials is they need to be moving fast. Keep an eye out for the Spanish mackerel off the beaches to, they will be mixed in with the bait schools. Also you might find some king mackerel mixed in with them. If you like fish spread these guys make an awesome fish spread.
October is the start of some of the best fishing Florida has to offer. This month is usually when the reds start to get into the big schools. But last month the fishing was off the hook with reds. They were on just about every shore line you stopped at. It was not just in our region, there were schools all the way around the coast and up into Tampa bay.
Rain rain go away, that's what has been was on everybody's mind last month. A lot of us were definitely getting cabin fever with it raining almost 20 days straight. With all the rain the fishing has still been somewhat productive. Heck I was able to fish for mud fish in my garage. For the days I was able to get out, the bait was plentiful but you sure had to be careful were you took your bait. With all the fresh water running out of the rivers it was hard to keep the bait alive if you fished close to or in the rivers. The redfish are a hardy species and adapt to the water changes fairly easy. They have been hanging out just on the outside of the creeks and river mouths. On the higher tides Look for the reds to be around oyster beds.
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