Inshore- First morning light and the first couple of hours after have been the golden hours on the Flats. Trout, Snook, Snapper, Tarpon, Bluefish and Jack Crevalle have been chasing baits at first morning light all over the flats. look for the small diving Terns and the fish will be under them. Using small Mirro Lure Mirrodines in chartreuse color has proven to be most effective during these feeding frenzies. Trout sizes have been on the average of 1-3 pounds however a few 5-8 pounders were caught this past week. Catch and release Snook have been primarily large females on the spawn, this past week we had one fish that went 35 pounds with numerous others in the 15 pound range. Snapper have been 12" to 16" and are excellent table fare. Tarpon, Bluefish and Jack Crevalle have also been hitting the same lures so if you come up with a bite off you can surely guess a Bluefish made his way through the baits.
Offshore- Kingfish action has been totally unbelievable this year with Kingfish being in as close as 15' of water. Trolling has been producing, however live baiting threadfins, sardines or blue runners has produced the most consistently. Even though Kings are being found in the shallow waters 50-70' has held the largest concentrations of fish. Sailfish are also being found while live baiting and trolling in the depths of 50-70', even though not large numbers like the winter bite 1-2 Sailfish hook ups a trip are not uncommon. Bonito are every place and even though most charter captains say they are not fit for table fare, we have found this furthest from the truth. Remember, they are in the Tuna family! Bleed them out IMMEDIATELY and cut out the blood strip when fileting. Most captains only want the Bonito to cut into strips to throw on the backside of their spoons or plugs.
Remember this is the time of year for storms and some of them being rather bad. Keep an eye on the horizon to keep yourself out of this situation.
Capt. Gil
Smokin Em Charters
www.florida-fishingcharters.com
772-323-1827
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