by Capt. Matt Mitchell
The few days of rain did wonders for our fishing by both cooling the water and giving us that typical summer tannin color. Getting into this summer pattern has been a long time coming and has the fish fired up. Redfish, snook, trout, and mangrove snapper action all got noticeably better over the past week. Add to it the lack of summertime angler pressure, and it’s also a good thing.
Every year it takes these rains to really kick off the redfish bite. This action is both on the many bars throughout the sound and under the mangroves. Cut bait is the key when targeting our redfish during the hotter water summer months. A cut pinfish or, better yet, a chunk of fresh cut ladyfish is hard to beat. Captiva Rocks, red-light shoal, and the mud bar have all been good places to soak em. Set up way off these sand holes that are just out from these bars and make long casts before setting the rod in a holder. This is not the most exciting way to fish but is extremely successful. Circle hooks are the key to this sit-and-soak method, as you just let these fish hook themselves. The amount of variety you can catch while cut bait fishing never disappoints; snook and trout also love an easy meal.
Mangrove snapper action has finally picked up out on the flats and is as good as it gets in the sound all year. Chumming small live shiners has these snapper crushing baits on the surface. Clients looking for that fresh catch meal have had an easy go of it. Downsizing the gear to a longer, lighter leader with a small light wire hook will catch more quality snapper. Look for points and tips of the bars in 3-4 ft of water where the current moves a little better to locate these fish. Once you find them, it’s amazing how many you can pull out of one spot. The FWC regulations on these Mangrove snappers are a 10-inch minimum and 5 per angler per day.
Snook fishing both in the passes and out on the beaches continues to be the best action around. For you shore-bound fishermen, this bite is your go-to all summer long. A great way to fish the beach is to use 2 rods: one with cut bait in a rod holder, and a paddle tail cast parallel to the beach. For a big snook, it’s hard to beat soaking cut bait, while the paddle tail is a great way to prospect and cover lots of water. Look for snook super close to the beach as they cruise the trough.
Hopefully over the next week our winds lay down, and I can get out on the skiff during my free time and start hunting tarpon. Light winds and getting out early in the morning are the key factors. Most mornings I make the rounds throughout the sound to visually locate rolling fish. When I have days off, this is my favorite fishing of the year; there is nothing as exciting as stalking tarpon. Set a few pinfish traps, and you can be on these fish at first light, which is prime time. Although we don’t have the numbers of tarpon as we do in the spring, these post-spawn fish are much more likely to eat a well-presented bait. The small skiff is a great tool for this fishing as it’s much more maneuverable and has a smaller footprint than my big boat. With business slowing down during our summer months, this is when I get to enjoy our fishery.
Capt. Matt Mitchell moved to Sanibel in 1980 and has lived in St. James City since 2000, when he started his fishing charter business. He spends over 300 days a year “living the dream” fishing. For questions and info: bookings@captmattmitchell.com.
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