Report: The Redfish action has really started to take off lately. This is the time of year when the Redfish begin to school up before the larger fish move out into the Gulf to join the breeding population, and your best chance to hook up with some big, hefty Reds. Sun Coast Kayak Sport Fishing has been seeing some very nice schools beginning to show up on area flats and along subnerged structure such as rock piles and oyster bars. The best action has been early in the morning on a low tide. Tailing redfish have been sight fished by clients early in the morning in a number of locations throughout southern Tampa Bay, while down in Sarasota the action has been mostly sight casting to Redfish "bulldozing" through the shallows along the edges of flats and potholes. Topwaters such as the Rapala Skitterwalk have been a great go to bait in the early morning hours while the waters are still calm. As the day progresses the fish can be found looking for forage around mangroves and points, as well as docks and seawalls. Live bait such as Pilchards and Pinfish will be sure bets but soft plastic jigs and slow crankbaits have been producing as well. The action continues at night too as Redfish Schools have dominated some of the dock lights that are traditionally Snook hangouts in a number of areas. Nothing beats a large pilchard, or jumbo shrimp in this case but the fly rod with small clausers is a close second for some fast action.

The Snook bite is still good. While thewicked insane fishing that we saw earlier this season for big linesiders has slowed there is still plenty of action for fish in the 24" to 32" range around lately. The best action during the day has been just inside the passes along deep drop offs, and on the beaches. Small bucktail jigs, soft plastic jerk baits, and topwaters have all produced very well when the conditions are favorable but the explosion of bait in the area means that Snook are keyed in on pilchards right now and a bucket full of greenies means some great snook action. Don't forget your fly rod either. Small clausers have been producing spectacular catches both along the beaches and in the passes. Night fishing for Snook has been steady lately and the numbers are very good. Clients are still seeing good sized fish up to 32" in all areas. The trouble, as I stated before, is getting past the Redfish in some areas - but that isn't all that bad a situation to be in. The biggest fish have been holding under old area bridges with good water flow and biting best well after dark. Sometimes the bite doesn't hit until 2 or 3 in the morning, but when it does hold on tight.

Trout fishing has been best in the early morning and evenings when water temperatures are a little cooler. This is when the larger Trout will roam pout of deeper water and into the shallows to feed more actively. In the morning the best bite has been a short window of about 45 minutes after the sun rises while the evening bite starts before sun down and continues well after dark in many areas. Topwater baits make for some exciting action in these situations.

Tarpon are still around and at times have been very easy to target. They have moved "inside" now for the most part from the Gulf waters along the beaches to areas along deeper channels, passes and bridges. Night fishing for big 'Poons along the shodow lines of bridges is still productive for hooking and jumping Tarpon in the 100# class or larger. Smaller tarpon have been good in the early mornings in many area ship basins, residential canals, and rivers. These fish are much less finicky than they were just a few months ago while schooling off of the beaches and their main focus now is on feeding so hook ups are coming much easier when you find them.

Rounding out the inshore action: The Snapper bite is still hot. There are tons of Snapper just about everywhere in the southern Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay areas. Remember the new rules - you must use circle hooks when fishing live bait for Snapper or Grouper. Look for them around mangroves, docks, and virtually any submerged structure. Sun Coast Kayak Sport Fishing clients have caught a few Cobia in the southern Tampa Bay area recently. They were undersized and released, but were an exciting catch while fishing for trout along shallow flats. If you want to tangle with some big fish right now that will definately pull yoou around the shark bite is still very good throughout the area.

Miami Peacock Bass

Sun Coast Kayak SPort Fishing is still seeing some very good fishing for Peacock Bass from the Ft. Lauderdale area down to the south of Miami. The Peacocks have been biting best in side canals and dead ends recenty as well as in a number of small lakes. The average size has been from 2# up to 5# with some bigger fish mixed in on every trip. In the northern canals the Snakehead bite has been very good as well. This is exciting topwater action, with explosive strikes, and line burning runs. A very fun time for topwater fishing enthusiasts.

Due to the rains and the busy schedule here in the Sarasota area, Sun Coast Kayak Sport Fishing hasn't run any trips into the Everglades this month but has a number booked for the coming month already. Please check back in next months issue for the report on fishing there. Only one trip down to the Keys this past month, it was a quick in and out overnighter looking for Permit and Tarpon. The Permit where skittish and hard to target but the Tarpon action was good around a couple bridges in the upper Keys. In September, when the water temperatures drop a little and the Bonefish action picks up Sun Coast Kayak Sport Fishing will be heading down again on a regular basis for some amazing fishing action. Check back for the reports from the Keys as well in next months issue.

D.C. Bienvenue
Sun Coast Kayak Sport Fishing
www.suncoastkayaksportfishing.com
               941-809-2703