Summer Slam Time Fishing
Summer is here, the weather is hot, and fishing has been on fire. While a lot of people complain about the heat and humidity of a Florida summer, I look forward to it every single year. Our weather becomes much more predictable and the variety of fish we can target is tremendous. Summer means there is a good chance at catching your slam (redfish, seatrout, and snook) or even your Grand Slam (the previous 3 with an added tarpon). Add into the potential fish black drum, jacks, ladyfish, sharks and more and it means there are plenty of fish to make the day enjoyable.
I will start by giving a couple of tips to anyone that hasn’t fished Florida during the summer. First, start hydrating the day before your trip. Hydrating at least one day early will help keep you energized, alert, and delay dehydration during the day. Second, wear clothing that covers you as much as possible. There is a reason the vast majority of fishing guides wear pants, long sleeve shirts, hats and face covers; it actually keeps you cooler in the sun and protects you from getting sunburned. If you do decide that you must wear shorts and short sleeve shirts, wear plenty of sunscreen and don’t forget to reapply it. Next, avoid excessive alcohol consumption the night before your trip. I cannot tell you the number of clients that partied the night before and regretted it the following day, when the sun rose above the trees and started beating down on them; it can make for an absolutely brutal day. Lastly, be sure to take in plenty of water during the trip. Don’t wait to get thirsty; by then, you are already starting to get dehydrated. Also, don’t wait for your guide to take a break. Those of us that have been doing this for decades have built up a heat tolerance that a lot of people don’t have.
Summer not only brings the heat, but for my clients and my fishing, it brings early mornings for the vast majority of the trips. Right now, launches are taking place between 6am and 6:30am. These early launches give us the most time on the water and normally coincide with the most active time for the fish. There are some exceptions to this rule, but those are a few days a month, near the full moon. I’ll talk more about the options during this time period later.
The early morning fishing typically revolves around topwater fishing, whether with plugs or flies. Snook, tarpon and
seatrout will readily take topwater offerings when the sun is low and there are few things more exciting than these predators crushing something on the surface. My favorite topwater plugs include the Rapala Skitter Walk and Skitter Prop. Both of these plugs do a great job of imitating an injured baitfish and the snook and seatrout have a hard time passing them up. For my tarpon, I prefer a more subtle topwater approach, at least most of the time, and will use small Rapala Poppers. These plugs are about 2” in length and provide just enough noise to attract them, without spooking them. Fly anglers will find that my topwater flies are either Crease Poppers or Double Barrel Poppers. The selection on the fly depends if I want a loud pop or a more subtle slurp on the surface.
Once the sun rises, it is time to switch from topwater to sight fishing. That doesn’t mean we have to switch the species we are fishing for, just the method we utilize for hunting them. Sight fishing has been great over the past few weeks. Once again, our waters are remaining much clearer than they have in the past 10 years. This is a direct result of the work we have been putting in to improve our water quality. The improved water quality has led to the recovery of oysters and more importantly, the seagrasses. A recent report showed that we have recovered nearly 40% of the seagrasses we lost between 2011 and 2016. We still have work to do, and there will be battles ahead to make sure the recovery continues, but we are headed in the right direction and it goes to show what we can accomplish if we fight together for a common good. Sight fishing is as close to hunting fish as it comes. While most people are familiar with sight fishing redfish, the majority of anglers are less familiar with sight fishing snook, tarpon and seatrout. But that is what we are doing. Let me break it down species by species and go over what is working for me and my anglers.
Redfish have been and probably always will be our most targeted fish on the flats. The iconic view of observing a redfish in the shallow grass flats, slowly patrolling for prey to eat, with just the tip of their electric blue tail sticking above the water’s surface, is as well known as any sight on the flats; it’s the exact sight that gave me my business name. Additionally, redfish are active hunters and typically are quite happy to take an angler’s offering if it is placed in the right area of awareness. However, the fish in our area are not quite as haphazard as other locations in their feeding habits. The redfish in the Indian River Lagoon Estuary are extremely well versed in survival and can be some of the most frustrating fish you will target. This has become even more obvious with clearer water and seagrass returning. The redfish are wary, observant, and feel even the slightest disturbances in the water column. For anglers, this means we need to lengthen leaders, lighten the offerings, and we take our time in poling the flats. It also means that we set up for fishing well in advance; shutting down outboard motors and easing onto a flat from a few hundred yards away. By doing this, you are less likely to alert the fish to your presence approaching. Once on the flats, and poling, it means trying to remain as still as possible, without shifting weight and causing the boat to create pressure wakes. These pressure wakes are picked up by the fish’s lateral line and instantly alert them to something bigger than them in the area. It also helps if anglers can cast sidearm, keeping the shadows down and keeping the movement of the rod closer to the water and harder to see. Remember, fish always have an eye toward the sky, watching for death from above. Now, as far as what to throw to redfish, that will depend on where we find them. If we are fishing grass flats, baitfish style offerings have been working well; specifically, the Z-Man MinnowZ in Pinfish and flies tied to imitate Pinfish. The returning seagrasses mean the pinfish are also returning and redfish love to gorge themselves on them. If we are fishing shorelines or oysters, then Shrimp jigs, like the Z-Man Scented ShrimpZ and shrimp flies have been working well. Crab patterns also work in these areas.
Snook are becoming more prolific in the area, due to very mild winters and their ability to adapt to some cooler water temperatures. For the last few years, the snook population has exploded and their range has increased to include the flats areas. While a lot of people are familiar with catching snook around the docks in our area, there is something very special about sight fishing them on the flats. Like the redfish in our area, the snook are very wary and “intelligent” when it comes to survival and not being fooled easily. In fact, they can become so wily that it becomes maddening trying to get them eat. The presentation to snook has to be about as perfect as an angler can get. It can’t be too close or they will refuse it and it can’t be too far away or they will ignore it; like Baby Bear’s porridge, it has to be just right. Reading these fish is paramount to knowing where your lure/fly needs to be placed. There’s a short video on this to watch that will help. To increase the chances of success, it is helpful if anglers can cast sidearm and skip their jigs/flies under the mangrove limbs. Snook love structure and getting the offering back in the structure will improve the chances for a successful hook-up. Baitfish jigs and flies have been the best for snook.
Seatrout fishing is getting a little better with the return of our water quality and seagrasses. Still, they are not anywhere
where they were prior to Covid. I know, no one really wants to hear about Covid any more, but that time period really did a number on our trout population. No, they didn’t die from Covid, but the sheer number of anglers on the water and the numbers of fish being taken from the water were staggering. The period was especially detrimental to our large fish population which is the vast majority of our breeding population. After a couple of years of miserable trophy seatrout fishing, we have started seeing them again. The seagrasses offer them a little extra protection, as they are almost impossible to see when they are in the seagrass. The abundance of bait in the area is also helping them, as they don’t have to eat just anything they run across. All of this is good news for the fish, but makes catching them more difficult. Most of our seatrout have been observed leaving the area as we pole up on them. I’m not complaining, as we really haven’t been targeting them, allowing them to recover. We do still catch them, usually when we are casting to a snook or redfish and a feisty seatrout grabs the offering first. While I know everyone likes a fresh fish dinner, I encourage everyone to release the seatrout they catch on the flats of the Indian River Lagoon Estuary; these fish are important to our future and they need a little help for the next few years for the numbers to rebound.
Tarpon are a summertime favorite in my location and this year is no exception. I know most people think of the Florida Keys or the west coast of Florida when it comes to tarpon fishing, but we have great tarpon fishing along the Spacecoast of Florida too. In fact, I will put our juvenile tarpon fishery up against any location in the United States. Tarpon from 5 pounds to 50 pounds are prolific in our area and there are a variety of ways to target them. In the early morning or late evening, we target rolling fish or use topwater plugs/flies to get their attention. Perhaps the most exciting way to target them though is sight fishing them when the sun is high in the sky. Poling flats and looking for laid-up fish are cruising fish is by far my favorite way to find tarpon. These fish are usually very happy to eat if you place your offering in front of them. Juvenile tarpon offer all of the excitement of their larger brethren, with the jumping, leaping, gill rattles and tail walks, but without the long-drawn-out battles that are bad for the fish and can lay waste to an angler. Depending on their size, we just match the tackle we use to the fish. This can mean using crappie rods for conventional anglers and 5 or 6 weight rods for fly anglers. Don’t get me wrong, juvenile tarpon aren’t the only ones we have, we also get plenty of big fish, including those in the triple digits. These fish are usually a little harder to get to cooperate, but we target them and do have success. The juveniles are just more prolific and cooperative the majority of the time. Just let me know what size you want to fish for and I’ll select the area that we have the best chances for success.
While redfish, snook, seatrout and tarpon are the top four fish we are targeting, there are also plenty of other fish around. Black Drum are probably the next most targeted fish in the area. Their numbers are plentiful and there are plenty of large ones. Black Drum are the antithesis to their cousin the redfish. Black Drum are slower, lazier, and require an angler to feed it as close as possible to get the fish to eat (there are exceptions to this rule, but not a lot). Even when they eat, half the time it reminds me of a freshwater trout sipping a bug in, as opposed to really trying to crush it. Once hooked, they rarely zip off, but are more like a powerful diesel engine chugging off. But, when you are talking fish up to 50 pounds, that is a lot of power. Jack Crevalle have also been making a return this year and they are always a blast. Aggressive eaters and powerful fighters, I think they are often over-looked for how much fun they are. The surprise this year has been the number of sharks we are seeing on the flats. Black Tips, Lemons, and even Bull Sharks have been observed in decent numbers almost every trip. Unlike the movies like to portray, these fish are not indiscriminate killers; in fact, they are downright difficult to get on artificial baits or fly. When they do cooperate, it makes for a fun, powerful fight.
Before ending the report, there is one option that is available and I wish more anglers took advantage of; night time trips. If you want to beat the summer heat, or if the only time you have to fish is near the full moon, then a night time trip can be perfect. No, we don’t necessarily sight fish in the conventional manner, but we do still target specific fish. Normally this takes place around dock lights or structure where fish like to live. Night time fishing is a different animal, but the action can be hot and heavy and you never know what you will come across. During the full moon, we do pole some flats, looking for feeding redfish and that same tail glistening in the moon light, instead of sunlight. Some fish like snook, seatrout and even tarpon can become much more aggressive during the night hours and beginner anglers don’t have to be as precise on most occasions. Just food for thought, when planning your trip.
No matter what trip you decide to take or what fish you want to try and catch, I’m here for it. There are still plenty of summer openings; most people book their trips the week before, due to storm season. It is pretty much what I encourage during hurricane season, so that a trip isn’t canceled due to Mother Nature deciding we need some wind and rain.
Tight Lines and Screaming Drags! Look forward to seeing you and spending a few days on the water!
Captain John Tarr
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