Boat with someone you can trust.

Onefish I really enjoy reeling in during the hot summer months is flounder. These fish move out of the creeks to the sandy/rocky bottoms where they are waiting for a tasty shrimp to swim by. Using a 1/8-ounce jighead, I cast up along the rocky shore and very slowly retrieve it across the sandy bottom. These are not hardhitting fish; they tend to grab the bait and bury back down in the sand. Often, it feels like a rock being reeled in until it realizes it is hooked and then begins the awesome fight.

The black drum are nearing the mouth of the rivers, as they follow the blue crabs into the freshwater areas. They also enjoy the deeper cuts around islands where the water temperature below the surface is a smidge cooler than the super shallow water. These fish like to eat when the tide is nearing slack and make for a fun time when the other fish decide to stop biting. I typically leave the shrimp along the bottom on a 1/8-ounce jig head with a slow twitch every so often to make it jump, in order for the fish to see it. Remember these fish are grazers, so they almost never hit the bait with a vengeance. It is more of a slow, soft bite until the rod tip barrels over.

I really like to target the inshore mangrove snapper bite this time of the year as well. They make for some tasty fish tacos, freshly caught off the boat. The fish are found near the rocky points and near deep cuts within the oyster bars. Many of the 10-to-12-inch mangroves are hanging around these areas, waiting for a nice shrimp tossed in front of them on a 1/8-ounce jig head.

July welcomes the scallops, and I am excited to get the season started! Reports are showing them in better numbers this year along the Nature Coast.

352-543-5142

Signs Banners

Copies

Fax Forms

Letterhead Envelopes Business Cards

Brochures

Newsletters & More Invitations

-Wedding & Graduation

Hey anglers, hope y'all are enjoying your summer so far. I know we are. Between youth gator hunts with my kids, and becoming a notary so I can perform boat and beach weddings, it’s been non-stop. There's no sugarcoating this, it’s been a tough hit-or-miss bite here lately. The kind of bite where one day you are a hero and the next two, a zero. We have had some very strange weather this year and I think the fish are just as confused as we are.

The reds and trout have both been spread out over the flats and bars and they seem to be few and far between. I'm still working hard for my clients and managing to make it happen for them, but the fish aren't giving it up easy for us.

I recommend using multiple different tactics while targeting these fish and using what's working best that day. I'm here to tell you, right now, what worked yesterday might not work today or tomorrow!

If you’re lucky enough to get a calm day, there are plenty of mackerel on the reefs to go play with and honestly, unless your following these fish day after day, that's more likely your best bet right now to have some good action.

Jason Clark In The Slot Fishing Charters

352-639-3209 www.intheslotfishing.com