Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Forecast for July 2006

 

            The early bird gets the worm! That’s my approach to fishing in July. Whether it is for tarpon, snook, reds or trout, I am on the water before daylight or at dawn for the best fishing of the day. This is also the coolest time of the day, which is one of the reasons it is the most productive. Showers and heat will put a damper on fishing in the afternoon, so I plan to be off the water by that time.

            Tarpon will still be a good option this month, particularly early in the month. They will start to thin out on the beaches and schools will break up, but since they are mostly done spawning their attention turns to food. I like to fly fish for tarpon in shallow water from mid morning until the sea breeze comes up. Anna Maria Island to Boca Grande Pass has some great areas for this type of fishing. Fish the sand bars surrounding the passes or bars that run parallel to the beach in many areas. My experience is that singles, double and smaller schools usually bite better at this time of the year. A properly presented fly is the key. Don’t cast too close to the fish or too long, but be sure that your fly is in the tarpon’s face as he swims up to it.

            You’ll also find tarpon moving up into Charlotte Harbor near Hog Island and along the West Wall, where you can throw fast-sinking plastic baits at singles rolling in a broad area. If they get concentrated enough, you can throw a fly at them but it’s tougher when they are widely scattered. Head a little further up the harbor into the Peace River and you’ll find juvenile tarpon plentiful in the canals of Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte. Scale your tackle down for these tiny torpedoes and they are more fun than their larger counterparts. I use fast-sinking plastic baits on medium spinning tackle spooled with 15 or 20-pound braided line. A fluorocarbon leader of 40 or 50-pound test is usually sufficient. A 9-weight fly rod with a fast-sinking fly line and a small bunny fly will work for fly anglers. Look for rolling fish and once you’ve found them, work them hard until they bite. Some days are easier than others!

            Catch and release snook fishing will be hot during July. You can walk the beach from about 8:00 or 8:30 AM until about noon with a fly rod or medium spinning tackle and sight-cast to snook cruising the trough along most beaches.  A variety of sizes of white baitfish flies and crab patterns will work for snook in the surf, as will plastic shrimp and jigs with shad tails. You’ll need polarized sunglasses to see them. A good cap, sunscreen and a bottle of water are other essentials you’ll need before heading off on a long trek up the beach. Turtle Beach at the south end of Siesta Key and Nokomis Beach at the south end of Casey Key are a couple of areas that can be good for sight-casting to cruising snook.      

I usually fish lighted docks and bridge fenders from Sarasota to Venice before daylight with a variety of white flies, jigs and plastic baits. You’ll also run into juvenile tarpon at first light around many bridges. I use a larger hook when I think they may be there, so that I have a better chance to hang onto them. Be sure to use tackle that is heavy enough to land snook and tarpon quickly, whether fishing during the day or at night. When the water is warm, it is much more stressful on them, so land them as fast as you can and send them on their way.

After fishing lighted docks, I’ll move to the flats for reds and trout. The best bite is usually at dawn and that is great time of the day to cast top water plugs and fly poppers. You’ll find reds in a variety of places depending on the height of the tide. When it is high, fish along mangrove shorelines and sand or oyster bars. Fishing docks is a good choice when the tide is low. You’ll find some of the largest trout in skinny water when the light is low. One of the largest trout I’ve ever seen caught with a fly was caught on a Skitterbug at dawn while wading in calf deep water. As it gets brighter out, trout will drop on to deeper grass flats where you can catch them with a jig, a Clouser fly or a plastic shrimp. A combination rig of a “clacker” style float and a plastic shrimp is hard to beat for fishing deep grass flats for trout with spinning tackle. North Sarasota Bay is bouncing back with reds and snook, but trout are still slow. Fish Gasparilla Sound for the best trout bite. I like the Sarasota to Venice area for combination pre dawn/flats fishing. The Terra Ceia area is also a good location for reds and snook early in the day.

If tarpon are your passion, there will still be plenty of action with them during July. Move onto the flats at dawn to complete your slam with reds, snook and trout. There are plenty of choices this month. Whatever you choose to do, do it early and remember to limit your kill, don’t kill your limit!

 

Tight Lines,

Capt. Rick Grassett

Snook Fin-Addict guide Service, Inc.

(941) 923-7799

E-mail snookfin@aol.com

www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com