With hot summertime conditions, there are ways to put fish on the line even when you’re melting.

Rainy days that have good cloud cover and heavy downpours will cool the waters just enough so that just after the rain, or the following morning, there is a decent inshore trout bite. The places I target are the western side of the bars on an outgoing tide.

There are some good bars just south of the Homosassa channel that an angler can spot from the rippling waters on a hard outgoing tide. I like to explain that in the world of flats fishing, tides are like winds on land. Imagine being in an open field on a hot day, with no shade, but then a breeze builds up and you feel it on your skin. It’s refreshing.

The same thing happens below the surface of the water because moving water is like wind to fish. It helps trigger a bite, especially after some rain-cooled water.

With the floating grass on the surface, one of my go-to baits is a popping cork and jig. Any type of treble hooked plug is going to be nothing but grief with the surface grass and even a single hooked jig. The popping cork will work better because the cork will gather the grass and protect your jig from being fouled up. 

The nearshore rocks are still the best action for mangrove snapper. Live shrimp is the best bait.

High incoming tide is going to be in the late morning throughout the afternoon.

Homosassa Inshore Fishing Report from Captain William Toney

To schedule a fishing charter or shore lunch excursion with Captain Toney, visit his website. A third-generation fishing guide in the Homosassa area, a member of the Homosassa Guides Association, and author of the Homosassa Inshore Fishing Report each week in NatureCoaster.com.

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