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On the Water: Even with July’s heat and storms, fishing will be good

By Capt. Bill Russell - | Jul 5, 2023

Over the summer you can expect cobia to make a surprise visit anytime. While visiting grandparents in St. James City, Brady Lucas hooked into this cobia in Charlotte Harbor fishing with Capt. Bill Russell. PHOTO PROVIDED

As we progress into the heat of summer, inshore and offshore fishing can be very good, just prepare for the heat and keep an eye on the weather. Many prefer to get an early start and get off the water ahead of the midday heat and afternoon storms. 

Summer snapper fishing heats up this month, as fish move inshore in good numbers and just off the coast. If a fish dinner is your target, snapper is your best bet as they are as tasty as a fish can get. Mangrove snapper have keen eyesight, often making it necessary to lighten up the tackle to fool them. Fluorocarbon leader from ten to 20-pound test is often necessary. Small hooks and baits deliver better hook-ups. I generally go with a 1 to 1/0 circle hook, or a small jig head. Shrimp, small pilchards and pinfish are top baits. Small pieces of cut bait are another good choice — it’s often necessary to allow the bait to lay on bottom or drift with the current in a natural manner. This is accomplished by allowing slack in the line. Many times, we keep the bail open on the reel until a fish picks up and starts running line. 

From the shallow flats inshore to reefs offshore, snapper respond well to chumming. A store-bought box of chum tied off to the boat in a chum bag is the most popular. If you are cast netting your own bait, it’s possible to load up with plenty of extras. Cutting the baits up and creating a continuous flow with the current is a good tactic as well. No doubt, a box of chum is the simplest and easiest — I would recommend more than one box. It’s frustrating to finally get fish fired up then run out of chum.

The best snook and redfish action will come on days with strong tides. Often, they are caught together around docks, shorelines and structure around the gulf passes, as well as oyster bars and shoreline overhangs on the higher tides. As the water warms over summer months, some of the better action for trout will come from 4 to 8-foot depths in areas with a grass or sand/grass mottled bottom and good water movement.

Calm summer mornings give good opportunities to run offshore and target grouper and other species. American red snapper season is open for recreational anglers through the month of July. Most target red snapper in depths beginning around 120 feet and deeper. Seventy feet is generally a good starting point for red grouper, but you may need to run past a hundred feet for larger fish. If you run out a little deeper, you may find red snapper and grouper around the same depths. 

Closer to land, wrecks and reefs can be productive with everything from snapper to barracuda to giant goliath grouper. Anchoring up current of structure with a fresh chum bag is preferred. A variety of baits is a good idea as well as an arsenal of rods rigged and ready for light to heavy action. 

For fun and fast action offshore, look for bonito and Spanish mackerel harassing bait schools in depths from 30-80 feet. Silver spoons or Tuna Jets in various colors can bring instant hookups when trolled or long cast around feeding activity. Watch for birds and surface commotion to locate the fish. Also, you can expect either species to show up in your chum line.

Sharks are a summertime favorite. Varieties of species both large and small are common both inshore and off. While they are a nuisance for some, many anglers hunt them for their fighting ability. Sharks play an important role in our ecosystem; please make every effort to quickly release them unharmed. Every kid loves to catch a shark of any size, now is a good time, just make sure and do it safely for both the angler and the shark.

To keep up on current fishing regulations, you can go to www.myfwc.com or download the Fish Rules app for the latest rules and regulations.

If you have a fishing report or for charter information, contact Gulf Coast Guide Service at 239-410-8576 (call or text); on the web at www.fishpineisland.com; or via email at gcl2fish@live.com.

Have a safe week and good fishin’.

As a lifetime resident of Matlacha and Pine Island, Capt. Bill Russell has spent his life fishing and learning the waters around Pine Island and Southwest Florida, and as a professional fishing guide for the past 23 years.