Now that the snow birds have gone north, the fish, flats and the guides are starting to catch their collective breath and settle down. As folks leave the Keys, the fish sense that the pressure is off and prowl the flats. The migration of big tarpon has thinned out leaving lots of smaller tarpon in the bays and channels around Florida Bay. When the conditions are calm and the tides are strong, the big tarpon make another appearance in the backcountry.
Though it's early August, we are enjoying June-like weather of calm, hot days and afternoon showers. I've been getting on the water early to hit the bonefish flats before the sun gets high. Later in the day I target redfish, which are more tolerant of higher water temperatures.
Permit and snook are also being caught daily in the backcountry. Hotter days mean fewer people on the water and less pressure on the flats. Robbie Ames and I fished the RedGhost Stalk tournament again this year and we had an enviable day of fishing. First, Robbie caught a tarpon out of a school of about 40 fish. Then the redfish got active, tailing and waking (pushing water) on the flats. He hooked up on 5 out of 6 casts, catching a total of 5 redfish. Then he caught 2 nice snook and lost one big one. Next came several shots at a tailing permit that just wouldn't eat the live crab we were offering. We found another tailer that ate on the first cast. After a 10 minute battle using 10lb Sufix braided line, we got the fish to the boat for a quick photo and release. It weighed in at 15 pounds. At the final minutes of the tournament, we had a school of bonefish swim right in our crosshairs. Robbie put a great cast in front of the school with a live shrimp. A fish darted out and ate the shrimp before it hit the bottom. But we soon realized that it was a yellow jack schooling with the bonefish. But at the end of the day, Robbie caught 2 snook, 1 tarpon, 5 redfish and 1 permit. Not bad!
We should expect this kind of great fishing action to continue throughout August and into September. Until then, tight lines,
Capt. Steve
