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| August |
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| Dust-off
that Pushpole!!! |
| Fishing
is heating-up on the flats in the Everglades. Take advantage
of the calm winds to jump up on the poling platform and stalk
the shallow water species. The best way to locate productive
flats is to look for signs of life like mullet, sharks and
stingrays. These are all good indicators and the redfish,
snook and tarpon will normally be in the same area. The key
to successful flats fishing is to take your time and pole
slowly covering the area thoroughly with your eyes.
This will ensure that you don’t pass up any fish and
also that you don’t spook them with the noise and pressure
wake created by the boat’s hull.
When on the flats, use tackle that will allow you the maximum
casting distance. For this reason, I use at least a 7’
to 7 ½‘ medium action rod with a reel able to
hold at least 200 yards of 10 lb. braided line. I’ve
had great success with Spiderwire Stealth braided line backed
with about 40 feet of monofilament.
The backing will prevent the braid from slipping on the spool.
The main advantage of using braided line on the flats is its
small diameter which translates into longer casts. Since there
aren’t any mangroves to deal with on the flats, you
can drop down leader size to about 2 feet of 25-30 lb fluorocarbon.
This is one on the few situations that fluorocarbon will give
you a clear advantage over mono leaders.
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The
only remaining variable is the bait. This is the perfect time
to use artificial baits. In most cases, you will need to choose
bait that will not get hung-up in the sea grass. A few good
weedless baits include, Hank Brown’s Weedless HookUp
Lures, Berkley 5” jerk shads texas- rigged on a worm
hook, and Johnson’s spoons. The mistake most anglers
make on the casting platform is to cast too close to the fish
resulting in a fish taking off to another flat. The most effective
casts will land at least 5 feet in front of the fish and at
least 10 feet beyond the intersection point. This ensures
that the bait will not spook the fish when it hits the water
and you can work the bait naturally across the path of the
oncoming fish.
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The arrival of
August also means Lobster season. For those who like to
go after “bugs” in the Florida Keys, remember
that the limit is 6 per person. Divers will be able to find
lobster huddled around any structure on the Oceanside from
Ocean Reef all the way down to Key West. Many initial scouting
reports indicate that this is going to be a good season
for lobster. If you are not a scuba diver, try bully-netting
for lobster at night. Bully-nets are used in conjunction
with underwater lights to find and net lobster from the
comforts of your boat without having to get wet. Just make
sure that you do not take any lobster from the Florida Keys
Sanctuary or Everglades National Park.
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Offshore
Report
Offshore fishing has been red hot. The mahi-mahi
bite is as good as it gets in the Upper Keys. Schoolie sized
dolphin in the 3 to 5 pound range with an occasional 8 to
12 pounder mixed in has been normal just past the reef.
There has been some big Dolphin up to 60 lbs. mixed in along
the weedlines in varying depths past the 500 foot line.
Only a few wahoo have been caught recently since their population
has dwindled due to their annual migration. The billfish
are showing up out in the Gulf Stream as well. The occasional
blue marlin has really surprised some dolphin fisherman
so far this summer as well as quite a few late season sailfish.
For the evening fisherman calmer sea conditions will provide
some great swordfish action out in the Gulf Stream. Don’t
forget the annual grey snapper spawn around the full moon
on the reefs and wrecks. You can catch these fish on cut
ballyhoo plugs or fillets as well as live pilchards. Catch’
em up!
You can contact Capt. George Clark Sr. or Capt. George Clark
Jr. at www.rodeocharters.com
or (305)522-5530.
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Til’
next time, Tight Lines and Light Winds…….
Captain
Lain
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