July 2016

if clients decide they want some redfish action. Flounder are being caught almost daily in the same areas where the trout and reds are cruising around. We are not targeting them but they will jump on the same Bass Assassin lures as hard as any trout or red. Flounder have made a great comeback since the limits were changed in 2009. It is common to see them brought to the marina each day, and many times they are large.

September 2016 will be the second anniversary of the trout limit being reduced from ten per day to five. I am asked every day, “Are you seeing a difference yet?” An emphatic YES is my answer, but what I’m really seeing more than anything is the average size of trout we are catching is longer and generally fatter. We just seem to be catching more healthy fish two years into the regulation changes.

Saying that, the number of really big trout we caught in this year’s prime season was off quite a bit. It wasn’t but a couple of years ago where my charters went forty-two in a row with one or multiple trout over seven pounds per day. This year a hot stretch would be for four or five days in a row. Regardless, we push on to catch the best the bay has to offer.

Water clarity in Baffin is the best we have seen in years. There is a section of “bad” water that is located on the southern end of the Upper Laguna that is slowly making its way towards the JFK Causeway with the prevailing southeast winds. The further it pushes to the north, the more green water falls in behind it, and that is where most of the good fishing is taking place. I expect this will continue throughout the summer.

Remember the buffalo! -Capt. David Rowsey TSFMAG.com | 87