Redfish bite strong around docks

Posted Jul 20, 2012 by Jim Holliman

Updated Jul 20, 2012 at 04:54 PM

BY MIKE ANDERSON

Inshore fishing can be challenging in July and August, to say the least. High water and air temperatures, along with summer storms, keep us working hard this time of year.

Early this week, I worked dock lines facing the south to take advantage of our southeast winds. The south winds push the plankton and other small particles in the water up on these edges, which brings the bait into feed and attracts the game fish.

This week, the reds were thick on these docks. We caught several nice upper-end-slot redfish every day this week. The shade from the docks adds to the cover, dropping the water temperature slightly and creating a great place for fish to hang out.

Work docks with slightly deeper water. I recommend docks with at least 6 to 10 feet of water. Live scaled sardines worked best, free-lined right under the docks.
There were also several big trout around this week, with our biggest coming in at 24 inches. The snook bite was a little slow as Thursday’s new moon super high tides had a lot of fish pushed up into the mangroves.

Offshore, the gag and red grouper bites remain red hot. Really big fish can be had starting in about 80 feet of water. There are keepers being caught inside the bay as well, but the big boys are in deep water. American red snapper season closed on Monday, but there are plenty of nice mangrove snapper to be had.

Catch Billy Nobles and Mike Anderson on the “Reel Animals Fishing Show” on Saturdays from 6:30-7 a.m. on WFLA, Ch. 8, and from 6-9 a.m. on 970 AM, and on Sundays from 7-9 a.m. on 620 AM. To book a charter, call 1-866-GAMEFISH or visit http://www.reelanimalsfishingshow.com.,/i>