Summertime in Apalachicola - Jul 20, 2006
Brett Stuart with 20 lb tripletail.
So you wanted to know what's been happening in Apalachicola these days, but were afraid to ask? I've been horribly remiss in sharing photos with you and updating our website, so please be sure to visit our photo gallery.
June and July so far... Conditions have cooperated this month with hot, exceptionally dry weather and most varieties of fish biting well, which has had regular anglers looking for extra days with guides. Tommy comes home every night, feverishly tying tarpon flys to try to keep up with "demand". With the exception of the last year or two, July seems to be the peak of our summer tarpon fishing season. Richard Barton & Larry Vorlicky fish with Chris 7 days every summer and they claim to have had their best week ever in the 9 or so years they have been coming to Apalachicola with 12 tarpon caught on flyrods between them. David Cantor (Atlanta) had a T N T day last week with Tommy (that would be Tarpon n Trout on fly)
Inshore, the tripletail have kept a lot of folks casting on bayfishing trips, along with the normal trout, reds, flounder, etc. etc. Capt. Chad's 15 year old angler Trevor Hodges of Pelham ALabama caught an officially weighed 24.5 lb Tripletail this Tuesday - see Photo Gallery. Offshore, snapper & grouper are biting well, even in rougher seas. And don't let anyone tell you that you won't catch a redfish in the heat of the summer because it just isn't true. Redfish have been biting all summer long even though they're not normally such a hot weather prey and man has it been hot! Yesterday Nathan came in literally melting from a half day flats trip and Monday he had a double tarpon hook up on spinning tackle. Did I mention that several of our flats guides and most of our Bay guides offer half day trips, especially in the heat of this summer?
August - September fishing forecast:
The Big Silver Fish AKA Tarpon arrived a bit later this summer in pretty strong numbers so we are expecting to be fishing well into September for them. (as usual, I might add) This is a good time to be able to plug or bait cast for them in the bay & passes. Bay guides will continue to do half day trips, morning or evening when the fishing is better and to ward off some of the middle of the day doldrums, going back to full days when the durn weather cools back down. Someone recently reminded me that we're headed into the "Windy Season" so of course my forecast is weather dependent. So far, so good!! Schools start back in session by mid August, which makes this an ideal time to take advantage of our normally slower-paced lifestyle and hook up with your favorite fishing guide.
As for me, I'm headed to my 30 year class reunion in Traverse City, MI this weekend (I'm older than I act!) with no access to email that I know of after about 2:00pm today, however I'll have my trusty cell phone and calendar with me.
Have a great weekend!
