July is an interesting month. With water temperatures closing in on summer time highs, certain fish start to bite less well during the heat of day.  Large seatrout, for one, seem to be greatly reduced in number.  “Keeper” trout are still catchable out on the beaches and occasionally inshore, but are targeted much less due to availability and size.  With the outstanding fishing available for these fish in winter, it almost seems a waste of time to chase them now. Besides, with snook fishing strong for another month and redfish being fairly available, most anglers would rather target these bigger species. Redfishing has been up and down but seemed to improve again during this most recent week of high tides.  Although trips weren’t producing big numbers, all fish caught were of good quality…pretty much a replay of the June report.  Live whitebait and pinfish as well as a variety of cut baits, all served as productive bait choices. Oyster bars and mangrove shorelines on the high tides were the ticket to success.

Snook fishing remained strong with most trips producing a half dozen fish or better.  Usually, a few fish 33 inches or larger would represent a part of the daily catch. The crazy thing about July fishing is that more snook are caught on most trips than redfish.  Redfish, for most of the year, are the easier part of the fishing day as they can be dependably caught…but with good snook fishing and average redfishing, this trend seems to reverse for a month or so each year.  Fish deeper holes with free lined grass grunts and shallower spots, like beach swashes, with whitebait for best success. With that said, many Tampa fishing guides make it a point to try both baits in all locations as, sometimes, after fishing to a group of uncooperative fish, a bait change can trigger an immediate strike. Although Florida has a great variety of gamefish to target, it’s hard to beat snook.  On light tackle, these fish make strong runs, with occasional jumps, and their structure seeking nature make them a great challenge. Good luck and good fishing.
Captain Stewart Ames

GONE FISHING CHARTERS
P.O. Box 541
Crystal Beach, Florida 34681
727 421-5291
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