This holiday weekend we celebrate this nation’s independence. There is always additional boat traffic on holiday weekends, and you are reminded that there will be increased enforcement as well. Law enforcement officers will be looking for boaters under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

When you’re hot, you’re hot! Daytime near record-breaking temperatures can be a health threat. Take precautions to avoid the mid-day heat and stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water and avoid alcohol. Don’t be a statistic. Be safe and have a great holiday weekend.

OFFSHORE/ NEARSHORE

Monday’s full moon might present a terrific opportunity to catch some fat mangrove snapper just about anywhere you find rock piles, ledges, or other structure. In just about all arenas from inshore to offshore you could find ‘mangos’ that are in the spawning mode.

Aggressive fish will chew hard in the evening, making the coolest time of day the best time to fish for mangrove snapper. Nearshore artificial reefs are providing action for mangos for anglers dropping medium-sized live shrimp and small-to-medium whitebait, a.k.a. scaled sardines or pilchards. Typical sizes for inshore mangos range from 1- to 3-pounds.

Offshore, larger whitebait, threadfin herring, live shrimp, and even squid will attract mangrove snapper in the 8-to 10-pound class.

Spanish mackerel have moved in along the beaches and artificial reefs from Sarasota to Clearwater. Many are moving inside passes and into the bays. Anglers trolling spoons in the #0 to #1 sizes like the Clark spoon or Huntington Drone Spoon are catching macks in the 2-to 4-pound range with the occasional 5-pounder in the mix.

Party boats out of Hubbard’s Marina at John’s Pass in Madeira Beach continue to get on big red snapper. Anglers fishing aboard federally permitted for-hire vessels will continue to enjoy the open season for red snapper through August 1. Many of the red snapper brought to gaff have approached the 20-pound mark. Huge gag grouper have also been landed on their 39-hour offshore trips while fishing depths ranging from 120-to 250-feet of water. Red snapper season is closed to recreational anglers.

Weekend Fishing Forecast for West Central Florida

Blackfin tuna continue to be caught beyond 100-feet. Many of the wrecks offshore are holding sharks and barracudas. Both put up a great fight. Dolphin are making their way in to depths ranging from 60-feet of water and deeper. Good numbers of these tasty fish are being caught, but the bulk of larger fish are out beyond 30-miles off Pinellas and Manatee shores. Keep a feather jig ready on a 15-pound class rod to pitch to marauding dolphin when the show up. Watch for weed lines and floating objects to attract both dolphin and tripletail.

A few anglers reported good action with hogfish over the past week. Look for them starting at about 60-foot depths. The top baits have been live shrimp and sand fleas. Numerous charters fishing nearshore and offshore as well as dive charters like SeizeTodayCharters.com out of the West Central area offer trips for this elusive species. 

Anglers fishing nearshore waters off Manatee and just south of Pinellas counties will have a new location to hit the waypoint save button on just 5-miles west of Anna Maria Island. Spearheaded by CCA-Florida, the new CCA-Florida Sean Gucken Memorial Reef was created in honor of the late St. Petersburg CCA member, angler, free diver, and spearfisherman who was a devout advocate for protecting Florida’s waters and marine resources.

According to reports, “the concrete was deployed on the Manatee County “Bridge Reef,” a pre-permitted artificial reef site roughly .25-mile long by .25-mile wide. The concrete reefing materials were donated by Port Manatee and Westra Construction. The Bridge Reef is located west of Anna Maria Island, 27º°30 55.44 / 82º 49 1.56 central point.” Yamaha Outboards and Building Conservation Trust (BCT) are partners in supporting this project and continuing Sean’s legacy.

INSHORE

This weekend’s late afternoon outgoing tides should produce some exceptional catches of snook and tarpon. Sunday night is the full moon, and as the celestial changes line up, conditions will produce good fishing opportunities. Fishing the major and minor solunar periods should produce good results.

Good moving water in the morning incoming tides should help improve the trout bite. Early morning action should be on tap for anglers fishing topwater lures like the MirrOlure Top Dog, Rapala Skitterwalk, or Heddon Zara Spook Jr. Areas with floating grass can be worked successfully with the weedless DOA PT-7. As the sun gets up higher, suspending and slow-sinking lures like the MirrOlure MirrOdine or Catch 2000.

Smaller baitfish seem to be more available to match the size of your lures to the available baitfish in the areas you fish. Some of our best trout action has come on the DOA Shrimp in the Deadly Combo version or as a bait fished alone. Pinfish can be a problem with live shrimp in many areas, but if you can find some decent shrimp, you’ll usually catch some fish with them.

Sunny days can be exceptionally productive for anglers fishing spoons. The Eppinger Rex Weedless Spoon in gold and ½ ounce is a favorite of mine. On occasion, I’ll downsize to a quarter-ounce spoon if the fish follow but don’t hit the half-ounce spoon. This usually gets the bite.

Redfish seem to have been spreading out in most areas we’re fishing. Schools of fish have been rare. When we find a redfish laid up in a sand hole, these fish have been hitting small jigs like the CAL 3-inch Shad, MirrOlure Marsh Minnow Jr., and the DOA Shrimp with little hesitation.

 FRESHWATER

Unless you’re hitting the lakes and rivers in the pre-dawn hours or after sunset, whatever lures you use will have to be worked slowly. In most cases you can get some action on buzzbaits under the cloak of darkness, but a frog bite can happen both at sunrise and sunset as well. After sunrise, good action on rattling crankbaits like the Rat ‘L Trap can be had. Spinnerbaits are a good option. Mid-day bite will be slow, but big live shiners fished around heavy cover or Texas-rigged worms pitched or flipped into openings of heavy cover will produce some big bass. After dark, many anglers prefer a lure like the Snag Proof Frog or some of the old tried and true lures like the Smithwick Devil’s Horse, or the Arbogast Hula Popper or Jitterbug. All will create some exciting topwater strikes. ‘Til then…I’ll catch ya later!

Catch a Charter with Captain Ray

Captain Ray Markham, Backwater Promotions
(941) 723-2655 • Ray.markham@gmail.com
www.CaptainRayMarkham.com • (941) 228-3474