September is half over, and although it is usually a great month to get out on the water, we had an unwelcome visitor to our area. Hurricane Irma was the largest hurricane on record; it stayed a Cat 5 for more than 3 days and hit the Keys as a Cat 4 and the West Coast of Florida as well, and was presumed to be headed straight for Tampa. Fortunately for our area, it turned east a few hours before it was forecasted to hit us or we would have taken some serious damage. To all those affected by this monster storm, you’re in our thoughts and prayers. We certainly hope the recovery in those areas affected is swift.
Let’s talk about fishing for a minute. Before the storm hit, the redfish bite was off the chain, with lots of slots along with big over-slot reds. Snook fishing has also picked up over the past couple weeks.
Mangrove Snapper fishing was incredible about 6 weeks ago, and is still going strong.I’ve got some trips over the next few weeks and I’ll give a report on or near the 20th.Tomorrow I’m scouting with a captain buddy of mine to see how the water looks after the storm and see if the fish are still in some of the places we’ve been catching them.
Scouting is a must in my business so the client has a productive trip.
Check out my Facebook page and Instagram page for more pics and on the water reports.
Tight Lines.
Capt. John Rivers.
