August is almost over and it’s finally getting time for many fishing guides down here to relax a little bit. I’ve been pretty busy still though September is always a slower month for business historically. Fishing can still be really good though and with no crowds sometimes you have the entire florida bay and everglades national park seemingly to yourself. This means you can fish just about any spot you want to, without worrying someone else is going to beat you there, or have already fished it out! Sometimes this can make a huge difference in your fishing day. As of late I’ve still been tarpon fishing a lot, almost every trip, and still getting out 5 or 6 days a week – pretty unbelievable for august. The fishing has been overall good too, we’ve been running a fair distance into the everglaedes though so usually a 3/4 or full day has been ideal. Today we did it on a half day and were able to land 3 out of 4 tarpon, a couple big sharks (lemon and blacktip), and a couple sting rays. That is insane fishing for literally just 2 hours of actual ‘fishing time’ when you count the 2 hours of running time! It’s not like that every day but just about every day has yielded some tarpon action. A few days were slower with only 1 or 2 bites, but we did land 6 tarpon one day a couple weeks ago. Other than that I haven’t been doing much else though there has been some good action fishing in the bays for mangrove snapper, with a handful of trout, ladyfish, and jacks mixed in. Snook fishing can still be decent on the shorelines and creeks with live pinfish or pilchards, though with the heat and the handful of ‘no wind’ days sometimes it gets to be a little too much. On the right days when you can fish the more open water shoreline areas with a light breeze it can be fun though, and there are some snook around. I haven’t been doing it but the gulf is also a possibility this time of year, with lobster traps back in the water tripletail have something to hold on to and permit can be out on the deeper gulf wrecks. Anyways I have a handful of days booked in September and will be going on vacation myself for part of it. If you are looking to get out on the water don’t be afraid to ask, if I can’t take you I’ll point you in the right direction!
