August 2009
Trout
Trout have been on fire in Pine Island Sound. We've been having great luck by drifting the shallow grass flats in water between 2 and 6 feet deep behind
Captiva, Sanibel, and off St James City. Topwater lures have been the go-to lure early in the morning and on days when the sky is overcast. We've
thrown a combination of Chugbugs, Zara Spooks and MirrOmullets. I think the MirrOmullets have out performed all the others. I've been using either
chartreuse or mullet colored topwater plugs. We've also been out a few days when the wind has been blowing a little and we switched to suspending
MirrOlures like the Catch Jr. and small MirrOdines. The colors that have been working best are the black back, gold sides, and florescent orange belly
(808), the other that has been working well is the blue and silver (24). We also threw the EC color below and had good luck with it. We lost it though and I
didn't have another in the boat.
I've been working the grass with jigs and soft plastics as well. The best colors have been the Pumpkin seed (brown w/ black flake) with a chartreuse tail.
The water temperature has been between 87 and 89 degrees. I think the Trout bite will shut down when the water temp gets up over 90 so hit the flats
early every day for the best chance of success.
Redfish
Redfish have been running around in small schools. We've caught a few on artificals but the majority of them have been caught on live threadfins or
pinfish. The few that we caught were caught on topwater lures were out on a deep flat schooled up with a bunch of large (15-20") trout. To be honest I
really haven't been targeting them lately as all the other fish have been easier to find.
Snook
We've been nailing Snook on both artificial lures and live bait. We've used live bait when fishing structure along the beach and along some of the
protected coves. Most fish were caught on pinfish as I've had mixed luck with finding decent sized threadfins; most have been too small to use for bait.
Something I've done though is chum the Snook with small threads and then cast a live pinfish in on top of them...BAM!
We have been throwing topwater plugs to moving pods of snook in the back and in the surf. Suspending baits like the MirrOlure Catch Jr have worked well
when the water is too choppy for topwaters and also during the middle of the day. The Fort Myers Beach has been a consistent producer of decent Snook
on artificial lures but we've gotten a few up next to the mangroves as well.
Tarpon
Tarpon have been a mystery this month. I haven't hooked any accidentally. Usually we'll hook one a day when fishing the deeper flats but this year
they've been in short supply. We jumped several under the causeway a couple of weeks ago in the evening. We also jumped three fish during a decent
outgoing tide right off Sanibel between 6-8pm. In late August I usually target them in Matlacha and also off Sanibel light. The fish usually range between
60 and 120 lbs which makes them much easier to land than the early season giants but they are still a lot of work.
Snapper
Snapper (Grey/Mangrove) have been a guest at my dinner table for most of the summer. They can be found almost everywhere right now and I won't
keep them if I have to measure them. We've caught quite a few 15-18 inch Snapper on artificial baits. Catch Jr and Jigs have worked well in Pine Island
Sound and Lower Matlacha Pass. We fished the Lower Caloosahatchee River on two different days and caught fish on both the Cape Coral and Fort
Myers sides of the river. I've used bait a few times in Matlacha and the river and have experienced explosive action with large Snapper. In fact, one of the
benefits of fishing for Snook this time of year is the incidental catch of Snapper which makes for a tasty dinner. I look for areas that have good current and
are adjacent to deep water. When targeting Snapper I tend to hunt until I find them and then set up shop and chum them with dead sardines, occasionally
slipping in one with a hook free lined behind the boat. I have heard reports that they are all over the sea wall in Redfish Pass but I've not fished for them
there yet.
Best Bet for Non Stop Action - Drifting for the Mixed Bag
We've caught Spanish Mackerel, Snapper, Trout, Tripletail, Jacks, Ladyfish, Redfish, and Cobia on the same deep flats in Pine Island Sound on artificial
baits like the MirrOlures and Jigs. I seldom anchor; instead I drift the flats and use the wind and/or current to cover ground. Many of these days have
yielded 100+ fish boated and we've almost always taken dinner home when we wanted to. Target the flats from Cayo Costa down to Sanibel in the
sound...you'll be successful!
Trout
Trout have been on fire in Pine Island Sound. We've been having great luck by drifting the shallow grass flats in water between 2 and 6 feet deep behind
Captiva, Sanibel, and off St James City. Topwater lures have been the go-to lure early in the morning and on days when the sky is overcast. We've
thrown a combination of Chugbugs, Zara Spooks and MirrOmullets. I think the MirrOmullets have out performed all the others. I've been using either
chartreuse or mullet colored topwater plugs. We've also been out a few days when the wind has been blowing a little and we switched to suspending
MirrOlures like the Catch Jr. and small MirrOdines. The colors that have been working best are the black back, gold sides, and florescent orange belly
(808), the other that has been working well is the blue and silver (24). We also threw the EC color below and had good luck with it. We lost it though and I
didn't have another in the boat.
I've been working the grass with jigs and soft plastics as well. The best colors have been the Pumpkin seed (brown w/ black flake) with a chartreuse tail.
The water temperature has been between 87 and 89 degrees. I think the Trout bite will shut down when the water temp gets up over 90 so hit the flats
early every day for the best chance of success.
Redfish
Redfish have been running around in small schools. We've caught a few on artificals but the majority of them have been caught on live threadfins or
pinfish. The few that we caught were caught on topwater lures were out on a deep flat schooled up with a bunch of large (15-20") trout. To be honest I
really haven't been targeting them lately as all the other fish have been easier to find.
Snook
We've been nailing Snook on both artificial lures and live bait. We've used live bait when fishing structure along the beach and along some of the
protected coves. Most fish were caught on pinfish as I've had mixed luck with finding decent sized threadfins; most have been too small to use for bait.
Something I've done though is chum the Snook with small threads and then cast a live pinfish in on top of them...BAM!
We have been throwing topwater plugs to moving pods of snook in the back and in the surf. Suspending baits like the MirrOlure Catch Jr have worked well
when the water is too choppy for topwaters and also during the middle of the day. The Fort Myers Beach has been a consistent producer of decent Snook
on artificial lures but we've gotten a few up next to the mangroves as well.
Tarpon
Tarpon have been a mystery this month. I haven't hooked any accidentally. Usually we'll hook one a day when fishing the deeper flats but this year
they've been in short supply. We jumped several under the causeway a couple of weeks ago in the evening. We also jumped three fish during a decent
outgoing tide right off Sanibel between 6-8pm. In late August I usually target them in Matlacha and also off Sanibel light. The fish usually range between
60 and 120 lbs which makes them much easier to land than the early season giants but they are still a lot of work.
Snapper
Snapper (Grey/Mangrove) have been a guest at my dinner table for most of the summer. They can be found almost everywhere right now and I won't
keep them if I have to measure them. We've caught quite a few 15-18 inch Snapper on artificial baits. Catch Jr and Jigs have worked well in Pine Island
Sound and Lower Matlacha Pass. We fished the Lower Caloosahatchee River on two different days and caught fish on both the Cape Coral and Fort
Myers sides of the river. I've used bait a few times in Matlacha and the river and have experienced explosive action with large Snapper. In fact, one of the
benefits of fishing for Snook this time of year is the incidental catch of Snapper which makes for a tasty dinner. I look for areas that have good current and
are adjacent to deep water. When targeting Snapper I tend to hunt until I find them and then set up shop and chum them with dead sardines, occasionally
slipping in one with a hook free lined behind the boat. I have heard reports that they are all over the sea wall in Redfish Pass but I've not fished for them
there yet.
Best Bet for Non Stop Action - Drifting for the Mixed Bag
We've caught Spanish Mackerel, Snapper, Trout, Tripletail, Jacks, Ladyfish, Redfish, and Cobia on the same deep flats in Pine Island Sound on artificial
baits like the MirrOlures and Jigs. I seldom anchor; instead I drift the flats and use the wind and/or current to cover ground. Many of these days have
yielded 100+ fish boated and we've almost always taken dinner home when we wanted to. Target the flats from Cayo Costa down to Sanibel in the
sound...you'll be successful!
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Fishing Reports