It has certainly been a week of dodging thunderstorms and hard rain for most of the area. We had a few great mornings, a few that had some light rains, and a few days we just sat at the dock looking at our radars hoping for a window. With that said when we got out things worked out well for most species. Most of the offshore guys did well and often have to plan their safe returns, inshore and back bay guys just kept a close eye on their lightning apps and made good decisions based off that.
Offshore fishing was good when the trips were able to get out far. The typical quarry were snappers mostly of the mangrove, lane, and mutton variety, but a few nice yellowtails did show up. The closure of recreational red snapper fishing means less boats will be running out into the deeper areas for a while. The results of not travelling as far i.e., 150 feet or more means less reports of tunas, mahi, sailfish, and black groupers. Have not heard many people talking about amber jacks or trigger fish yet, but that just opened, and it has been rather crappy out the last few days.
The back bays have been inundated with a ton of freshwater runoff. In areas that have lots of creek mouths, rivers, or streams there have been a lot of redfish and snook taking advantage. Anything that is making its’ way out from these areas is being eaten. Top water lures in the morning and during calm conditions can be a great way to go about these areas this time of the year. Trout fishing has slowed down a bit as of late. Trout are not as tolerant of the freshwater and tend to move out into saltier waters till things get back to normal. A few pompanos have been cruising around on the open flats. The pompano is very random, but a simple shrimp under a cork may get the job done.
The nears shore waters have been a great place to pick up permit. Although most of the fish that are being caught are smaller but biting. Shrimp both freelined as well as slightly weighted have been working well, but crabs are still best. Most of the permit caught have been between 4 and 10 pounds with an occasional bigger one, so based your tackle on that. Snappers, trout, and a few cobia have been the bi-catch for most of these trips.
Tight lines, Capt. Greg Stamper
Snookstampcharters.com Fort Myers beach, Fl
239-313-1764
August is here
