SUWANNEE

August is a month that will provide you with opportunities to catch fish, both inshore and offshore. The real challenge, will be to get on the fish when they are hungry. This time of the year, we have the most bait, in the Lower Suwannee River Estuary. This means, the predator fish don't have to move very far or feed very long to fill their bellies!

Prime time will consistently be first thing in the morning, followed by high tide. When you can get both happening at the same time, this is a "super prime" time to be out there fishing! On the last part of the high tide, the fish will move up into the shallows, feeding in those zones, where there will be little to no water on low tide. Early in the mornings, these waters will also be cooler, attracting the predator fish into these areas.

Best baits will truly depend on the skills of the angler! While some anglers have the skill and touch to fish with an ⅛ ounce jig and a FishBites Brawler 5 inch Jerkbait up around the grass and oysters, many do not! That's when the topwater baits really shine, especially when you switch out the treble hooks with single inline hooks. This makes retrieving your $10 to $15 plug much easier after it's been lobbed into the sawgrass or up onto an oyster bar! And yes, they do still catch fish! I have switched most of my plugs over to single inline circle hooks from the Stretch 30s down to the Rattle Traps. A couple quick tips when fishing topwater baits, use a monofilament leader. Fluorocarbon leader sinks faster than mono, interferring with the action of the bait. If you are having to fish your bait slowly, the fluro can get hung up on submerged structure like oysters. Now that we have more snook here around the Lower Suwannee

River Estuary, I recommend at least a 30 lb. leader and most times I prefer a 40 lb. leader. Remember, we are mainly targeting reds and snook in some pretty tough country.

Offshore, the red snapper bite along this part of the Coast has been way out in 80 to 100 feet of water. Many of the offshore anglers are anticipating the opening of gag grouper on September 1st, and then the weekend red snapper season starts in October. Plus, by then, the water temps will be coming down and the fish will begin to move in some. Right now you can find some nice mackerel out on Spotty Bottom and Seahorse Reef. Trolling or casting flashy jigs and spoons will be your best bet along with fishing early in the day! Or, you can anchor up and put out some chum and enjoy the wide variety of marine life you will attract!

Until next time, be safe, Tightlines and Catchemup!

Captain Tony Johns | 352-221-2510 www.lowersuwanneriverfishing.com

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August is here, as well as schools of migrating redfish! I like August for red fishing. Typically, the northern push starts for us mid to late August, but could be sooner or later. I believe these big schools of mature redfish are making a northern migration and like to stop in for a short stay in Homosassa. They could be moving on the moons a lot like tarpon. We have good red fishing year-round for sure, however it’s really cool to fish big schools of red fish in the months of August, September, sand October. However, just like tarpon there are no guarantees that these migrators make the stop here. Lots of things can change their course and they just keep swimming, but when they do make the stop, it can make for memorable fishing!

Redfish- I like to fish the tides this time of the year (Really, all year!). So I would plan on fishing the last two hours of the incoming for redfish. Bigger redfish schools are going to float in with the tide, to your outside western points on St Martin Keys. They will stage outside of the keys in a safer depth of water, until the tide is flowing in, and then they will come in to feed. Live bait, dead bait, artificial, flys, you can throw it all! A lot of guys like throwing cut mullet or cut lady fish. They will eat shrimp on a jig head or live pin fish. Gold spoons are my favorite. You won’t miss them when they come in. Look for big standing water, kind of like a school of mullet pushing, but bigger “V” wakes. like a lot bigger! And if the timing is right with the sun, you can’t help but see red! If you are in the right spot, it’s easy to get a good bite going. This year, it seems like the shark pressure is even worse than last year. It seems that all up and down the coast. I’m not in the business of feeding sharks, tarpon or redfish, so if sharks come in my school I will pack up and go look for other fish.

Nearshore, rock hopping can be productive, and I say rock hopping, because it can be hot out there and the only a/c you got is to crank up and hit the next spot! Load up on some shrimp and 1/4 oz DOA jig heads and take the kids out for some rod bending action. Sea bass, grunts, mangroves, sea trout and maybe a grouper will keep the rods bent.

Low tides, look for scallops in 3 to 5 foot ranges. Scallop numbers have been a little low to start the season. August I think will be a little bit better, due to them getting a little bigger. I feel like scalloping isn’t really about the limits, but more about the experience. A few local captains have been relocating there catch, (re-seeding) kind of a catch and release. Might not be a bad idea to help the population for next year…

On a side note. There seems to be way too many negative boating incidents already on the water this year, unacceptable in my opinion. People need to slow down and pay attention. There is no excuse for it. Is it really that important? I promise you that idling just a little bit further, or slowing down for slower boat traffic, is not going to make that big of a difference in your day. If something bad happens because you were in just that big of a hurry, the consequences for the rest of your life will be worse. YOU are responsible for your wake and the safety of your passengers. Pay attention; be safe and remember you’re out there to have a good time and make it back to the dock safely…

As always stay safe. Stump

TTroutcontinue to please those who are looking for them, as most of the tourists here now, are after scallops. This will wind down considerably after the first week of August, and Back-to-School is all anyone is doing.

We have had some great trips and caught some great fish in July like the 24-inch trout Billy Pillow of Perry, Fla. caught with me July 5th, in 3.6 feet of water on a live pinfish under a Back Bay Thunder. We caught our limit in just over two hours fishing time. and never got over 4.5 feet deep nor under 3 feet. The next day, Ed Walters of Tallahassee (95 years old) caught the first keeper of the day, a fine 23-inch trout, and managed his limit of five trout to boot. We fished for four hours that trip. We were catching nice trout on Assassin’s 5 inch Shads in Pink Ghost, Orange /Gold Shiner, and Laguna Shrimp before the deluge 10 to 14 inches (depending on who you asked) of rain came for us the end of June. The super-stained water has congregated fish much like it has in the past. Fish the curtain if you can find it.

Our reds have been mixed in with the trout and fish up to 26 inches; like the one Shane Walters landed on our trip July 6, are eating pinfish right along with the trout on the same drifts.

Just how long the stain will hold is anyone’s guess, but it has improved the “bite” immensely. Expect to find a bunch of floating grass in August and use the Original Cajun Thunder or a Back Bay Thunder in combination with your live bait, cut bait, synthetic bait or soft plastic bait. I use 30 lb. test TrikFish monofilament leaders to my jig and Assassin plastic combo or to a live pinfish rigged under my Thunder. I spool up my live bait reels with TrikFish Game Green Mono a fluorescent green line which enables me to track our quarry even when the Back Bay is under.

Meanwhile, Let's Go Fishing!

Pat McGriff dba One More Cast guide service for 30 years! www.onemorecast.net onemorecast@gtcom.net

Heyguys and gals, Hope everybody is staying nice and cool. It’s been a scorcher on the gulf! Luckily, we are still bringing in the catches, but unfortunately the hotter the weather, usually means the colder the fishing.

Something I’ve really noticed with the redfish the past month, that is you can hardly catch them if you do not have cut or live bait. Yes, we’ve caught a few here and there, but artificial has been tough. Trout on the other hand, have been doing just fine with artificial, if you can get deep enough to get to them. With all this wind we’ve been having, it makes it difficult to get to some of the deeper fish Well guys, hope to see y’all out there. If you have any questions give us a call, and until next time, Keep It Reel Native!!!

Captain Brent Woodard Reel Native Fishing Charters

ReelNativeFishing.com

352-284-5514