Hello, I hope everybody is doing well. I can't complain; fishing has had some consistence for the most part. We've had some heavy storms lately in the afternoons. I've found that the areas where the rain has falling hard, the fishing is a little harder as well. Remember when water colors change you need to change your color patterns as well.
The summer trend of local fishing is really starting to show. One of my favorites has started to show this last week; the always fun Tarpon! I have only Tarpon fished once in the last two weeks. We saw a few fish, but no luck getting one. Always good to see them around the boat; gets my blood pressure up every time!
We fish for Tarpon on the bottom using, live and fresh dead baits like; spots, bluefish and Menhaden. We are rigging these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound mono leaders. Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook ups and landings for Tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 9/0 depending what hook series you like. I have also had a fair share of Tarpon on my kite rig with live baits like greenies and menhaden. Nothing like seeing a Tarpon hit kite baits!
When the Tarpon start to show up, the sharks are already here! I'm not talking about one to three footers; I'm talking about four to seven plus footers, running fifty to two hundred pounds; on light tackle and fly rods. Don't knock it till you have tried it! It's a lot of fun most of the sharks come right up to the boat and take the bait or fly. We catch Lemon, Dusky, and Black tips and a few Hammerheads from time to time as well.
Best baits for the near shore sharks are, fresh and live Menhaden. When we use bait to catch the sharks we use spinning reels, with 300+ yards of thirty and fifty pound Spider wire Ultracast braid. Rigging the baits; eight feet of 80 pound mono leader; some will wind on to the reel. Connected the 80 pound mono to a fifty pound swivel, then to Two to three foot of #9 SS wire and an 8/0 or 9/0 off set J hook. If you prefer Fly fishing, I like Striped bass flies in Menhaden patterns with 4/0 and 5/0 hook sizes. We use ten to twelve weight set ups; have lots of extra flies with you!
The Redfish are still picking good, you just have got to get out there and find some fish that have not been fished too much. Live, fresh cut bait and scented grubs "Blurp" have been the ticket. When your fishing early don't forget to try a good ole' Rapala Skitter walk for some top water action with the Redfish. Spanish mackerel are biting as well, casting and trolling are best bets for these speedsters. Don't forget that great hot summer fish; the Sheephead, the hotter the better for those guys. One-armed bandits seem to be one of best baits for me. Fish them around docks and bridges.
Gear used: Redfish, Spanish and Sheephead: reels Penn Sargus SG2000 and SG4000 Rods: Ugly Stick Lite 7'0" Med light and Med act. Line: Fire Line crystal in 10 and 20 pound test. Sharks and Tarpon: Penn spinning reel 760L (Live Liner) and Penn Torque 100TRQ. Rods: Penn Torque 6'6" 30-80 class spinning and Torque 6' 80-130 casting. Line: Spiderwire Ultracast in 30 to 50 pound.
ICAST News: I was in Orlando FL last week for ICAST: International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades. All the new tackle for 2010 is released here. I saw some really cool stuff that will be in the local tackle shops very soon. A few of my favorites were; Penn's new lines of spinning reels. The new Penn Conquer spinning reel is my new favorite Redfish stopper, trust me it will stop'em! I was on the field research team for this reel and it really impressed me! This reel is made for super lines. Specifications: Sizes 2000, 4000, 5000 and 7000. Drags: 2000 12 lbs, 4000 19 lbs, 5000 22 lbs and 7000 32 lbs.
Next on the list that caught my eye, Penn's new Torque spinning reels. If you like hardcore jigging, bottom fishing or catching big pelagic on spinning tackle this is the spinning reel for YOU!!! Specifications: Sizes TRQS5: 400 yards 30# braid, TRQS7: 470 yards 50# braid and TRQS9: 490 yards 80# braid. Drags "watch out" there hot: TRQS5: 38 lbs, TRQS7 41 lbs and TRQS9 50 lbs yes 50 lbs "that is a lot of drag for a spinning reel. The Torques comes in Black/gold and Gold/silver. Check them out soon at Pennreels.com
Thanks for taking the time to read this report, don't forget to take a kid fishing!
Capt. Jot Owens
Ranger Boats and
Pure Fishing Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
