The water throughout the bays is about as clear as you will see for this time of the year making for a variety of exciting bites. Fast paced action can be found inshore, nearshore along the beaches, and in the gulf. On shallow grass flats there are good numbers of speckled trout being caught. Most of the fish are being caught early in the day and later in the afternoon when its a little cooler. Small top water plugs like the skitter walk or the chug bug have been producing during low light hours. DOA shrimp and other soft plastics like the 3rd Coast Lures split tail fluke are a good second choice if the fish are hesitant to eat on the surface.
Mangrove snappers are still chewing like crazy on all kinds of shallow water structures. I've been catching menhaden in the bayous and using them to chum up the mangroves to get them to come away from the structure so we can target them with much lighter tackle. These fish are so much fun to catch once they get turned on and this year seems to have a much better class of fish that in years prior. Did I mention they make great tacos?
Redfish are widespread throughout the bays and along the beaches. As is usually the case, the slot sized fish are going to be running in schools in the shallows. You may also find them hunkered down around docks, back in creeks, and in marshy backwaters. If you like big fish, you are in luck, because there are big bull reds all over the place. Along the beach, in the pass, and around several of the bridges the redfish have been thick and chewing. You can target them with big pinfish, live blue crabs, or an assortment of artificial offerings.
Lastly, but definitely not least is the tarpon. If you want to catch a tarpon here, this is the month to do so. I am by no means saying it will be easy, because they are a very worthy adversary, but they are here now and will be migrating through for the next month or so. All things being perfect, they will eat live baits, soft plastics, and flies, making them one of the most sought after, and highly coveted fish that swims. All that being said, if you see boats along the beaches that are set up to catch them, give those guys some room. Its already hard enough to catch them in perfect conditions without boats constantly running over their heads.
If you have additional questions about what's biting, how to catch them, or you would like to book a trip, I encourage you to give me a call or shoot me an email.
