Good news for those fishing shrimp. Shrimp are getting larger! Don Adams says he’s now able catch shrimp in the rivers. River shrimp are larger than shrimp found in the creeks. Pogies are present in the rivers but these fish are small and sound quickly. Large pogies can be found close to the sounds. Tarpon are present and can be found close to the bait (pogies). Several fisherman have landed tarpon; most have been well under 100 pounds. However some large tarpon have been caught. In general big fish show up during late summer or early fall. Redfish and seatrout have been biting on finger mullet as well as shrimp. The best redfish and seatrout bite has been near the sounds. Capt. Stan Allen says the bite has been inconsistent with a good day followed by slow one. The best bite has been usually either in the early morning or late in the afternoon. Plastics will work! Plastics can allow a fisherman to cover a lot of water and to literally hunt the fish. Keep in mind, work your plastic slow in slow moving water. Covering lots of water is fine just make your presentation is realistic to the conditions. There’s tons of bait in the creeks so make whatever you’re fishing stand out. Large baits stand out! Pin fish and other small bait fish can be numerous so bring plenty of bait. Fishing should likely improve as the summer progresses although it’s pretty good now!

Tides are less than 8.3 for the remainder of the month. As tides builds into the 8 ft range the bite will likely pick up as well. Moving water equals a food chain. Try to fish moving water during your fishing trip and you’ll likely catch more fish. Look for a good drift (flow of water), clean water and bait and you’ll likely fine fish! There have been several reports of good catches of seatrout and redfish. Chuck King reports that most of his customers are releasing more fish. This only makes good sense as more fishing pressure is placed on resources. Present limits are likely unrealistic to sustain a healthy fishery. A keep few fish to eat and release the rest. Hope this report helps you in your enjoyment of our sport!

Capt. Jack McGowan

Tip of the Week
Bring plenty of bait and fish larger baits. You’ll likely be surprised at the results you’ll get.