Greetings from Captain Buddy,
The fishing overall, definitely picked up in early September. Plenty of Redfish around, with occasional very large schools. The water has remained reasonably clear, so it was fun getting to sight-cast. Larger Snook were being caught again. Earlier in the season was a different story. From the second week in June until late August, locating a mature Snook was extremely challenging. Warm water temperatures draw them to deeper water. Deeper water means they head off-shore or into the deeper, larger passes. When water temps push into the low to mid-90’s, it can be a hard go during the day. Best chance for success, (and I made a habit of it the latter part of the summer), is to fish late in the day until about an hour after dark. Experience in the mangroves has shown me that much later than that doesn’t yield many Snook. Now, bridges are an entirely different story. I have a good friend that only fishes at night by large bridges. He does remarkably well with quality spinning gear with the Tarpon and large Snook. It’s not really the time and place for fly-casting, but I occasionally enjoy joining him in casting out large sinking plugs, amongst other enticements. I’ve found, with a little patience, you have the potential to hook up with a Snook of a lifetime!
We did jump a few Tarpon again in September. They were around, but not like I’ve seen them in past years. It could have just been circumstance, because with less anglers booking my services due to Covid 19, I wasn’t as active in scouting in advance, as often is the case. Consequently this year, those rolling Tarpon caught a long break!
Here’s toasting to 2021 and to a much healthier year for all of us!
Happy Holidays,
Captain Buddy