south county

inshore & Freshwater

Fishing Forecast with

Cap T. paT ri C k Smi T h

or me, August can be a challenging month in the saltwater for everything except one species, giant snook. Whether it’s walking the beach, looking for them in the surf, dropping big baits at the inlets and bridges, or even fishing dock lights for little guys – snook will be plentiful. Out on the beach the key is really finding bait. If you can find sandy key pilchards or regular pilchards there will most likely be snook very close. Early in the morning, light colored top waters worked in the trough can sometimes get a pretty awesome bite. A few other lures that work are silver spoons, crystal minnows, and a white bucktail jig. In the inlets, responding fish will be piled up and easy targets. Dropping a live croaker, perch, or grunt will most likely get you an instant bite if you’re in the right spot. Be sure to use heavy tackle and get those fish in the boat quickly before the sharks get them or they get too fatigued as they wrap up their spawning. Dock light flyfishing can be excellent this time of year. Small white flies somewhat drifted with the current should get you hooked up quickly.

It’s prime time to catch a giant snook like this 42” that Danny pulled out last week.