July/August Fishing Forecast
The tarpon fishing in June was just awesome. In fact this whole season has been really good and the tarpon should stay here in good numbers through out the summer. The snook fishing has been getting better and better. The redfish are starting to school up. The mangrove snapper are starting to flood the flats, passes and nearshore reekfs. All and all July and August are looking to be excellent months to fish and best of all there's NO OIL!!
Tarpon, Tarpon, Tarpon!!! The spawning season for tarpon is pretty much over but don't worry thousands of fish will stay in Charlotte Harbor and Southwest Florida for the entire summer. The best part is they aren't worried about breeding, all they want to do is eat! I have had my best tarpon fishing days in the late summer in years past and with as many fish as we had this year I think that the tarpon fishing is going to be stellar. Look for tarpon in Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island Sound and down the beaches. Live threadfin herring, pinfish and crabs will all been produce fish. Artificials like DOA Baitbusters, Mirrolure 52m and large swim baits will also be very effective at catching tarpon. Especially early in the mornings.
Snook fishing in June continued to be very good and July and August will hopefully have more of the same. Snook are feeding like mad and the catch and release action has been really good with some 30 plus fish days and a few fish in the 15lb range. That is going to continue throughout the summer. Snook are starting to move out of the flats and rivers as they begin to migrate toward the passes and beaches to begin their spawn. These fish will stage in areas close to the passes and will be more than excited to see a livewell full of bait. July and August are some of my favorite snook months. For you night owls, the night time snook fishing around the lighted docks in Punta Gorda, Ft. Myers beach, Little Gasparilla and Boca Grande might be your best bet for some snook action. Just remember they will be catch and release through September 1st but they are still awesome to catch.
Redfish action will get better and better as July and August unfold. The redfish will start to school up as they begin their annual spawn. The full moon in August should really start to kick off the spawning season for big bull reds.In June I had some 30 plus fish days and the fishing was as good as it gets. The influx of baitfish, like sardines, herring and pinfish, onto the flats really got the reds looking for a meal anywhere they could find it. Your best bets for July and August redfish action are going to be a livewell full of Scaled Sardines(aka. Whitebait) or some fresh cutbait. Both methods are very effective this time of year whether your fishing the open flats or around the mangrove shorelines. As far as artificials are concerned the topwater bite should be really good this month especially in the morning and on overcast days. I prefer the Mirrolure MirroMullet on calm days and the Top Dog Jr. when the wind is blowing. Don't be suprised if you catch a giant trout or a big snook as they begin to roam the same areas! Another great redfish lure is a Flats Intruder spoon in either copper or gold. Spoons are a classic redfish bait and they'll be very effective for the rest of the year.
The nearshore action in July and August should pick up especially for mangove snapper. Mangrove snapper will infest all of the passes and nearshore wrecks. This is some of my favorite fishing and my favorite eating as well! Fishing the passes with a 1/2 oz. to 3/4 oz. sinker with 24" of 20 lb. flourocarbon with a small sardine or pinfish will definitely produce some nice limits of snapper. The nearshore strucure will be holding hordes of baitfish that will surley be followed by hungry sharks, spanish mackeral, king mackeral, snapper, bluefish and bonito. While fishing these nearshore wrecks and reefs don't be suprised to see some hungry permit as well. Big hand pick shrimp and small crabs will do the trick for the permit, if you can find them. Sometimes it is harder to find good permit bait than it is to find the fish. I hate when that happens!
Whether you want to catch the fish of a lifetime or just relax with friends, you can count on Reelfishing charters to put together the ultimate Southwest Florida experience! Capt. Danny is the guide that will bring everything together for a fun, exciting fishing charter that you'll remember.
Reelfishing is a Fort Myers fishing charter as well as a Boca Grande fishing guide service. We pick up at several locations around Southwest Florida including Burnt Store Marina, Pineland Marina, Placida and the Boca Grande guide docks. Other arrangements can be made if necessary. We try to make fishing with Reelfishing charters as easy as possible.
Catch Fish, No Excuses!
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above: Donovan Chandler with his first Boca Grande tarpon! June was on fire for tarpon fishing. There will be plenty of opportunity to catch nice tarpon like this throughout July and August on a Fort Myers fishing charter.
above: John Grant caught this nice 30" tailer on fly. This was one of 5 fish he caught that morning. Redfish like this can always be caught on Boca Grande fishing charters.
above: Big trout, like this one caught by John Berg, will become more prevalent through the Winter into Spring. Fort Myers fishing charters can produce 40-60 fish days while fishing for big trout!
above: Andy with a beatiful 35" snook. This fish almost man handled him and broke off but Andy came out on top! Big snook like this are always a possibility on Boca Grande fishing charters.
above: Big tarpon like this are right around the corner! Dont miss out on the 2010 Boca Grande Tarpon fishing season!
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