We are in the “dog days” of summer right now in August but the fishing has been great. We are mostly running half day fishing charters right now beating the mid day heat. We have not had many afternoon thunderstorms or much rain in general these last few weeks making it feel extra hot out on the water. The afternoon and evening rains are what cools down Florida in the summer and we just have not had much rain this summer. With that being said the fishing has been great and we have had great water quality all summer long so far.

The most action we are experiencing on our fishing charters lately has been the mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel. Both of these species of fish are some of the best eating that Tampa bay has to offer. Right now through the end of September is the best time of year to catch them. We are concentrating on the rock piles in the bay and around the sunshine skyway bridge. Live pilchards and shrimp are the two main baits that we present to these fish either free lined or with a small split shot. An effective artificial lure that we use occasionally on our fishing charters for the Spanish mackerel is the gotcha plug. Working this lure very fast and erratic around schools of Spanish mackerel can outperform live bait in the amount of strikes and fish landed most days. The mackerel generally feed higher in the water column than the mangrove snapper but this time of year since the snapper are spawning becoming more aggressive they will be mixed in with the mackerel sometimes. The mangrove snapper are generally bottom dwelling around structure by nature. Mixed in with these two species of fish we are also seeing the occasional gag grouper, red grouper, lane snapper, ladyfish, and jack crevelle.

The catch and release snook fishing is still providing great action on free lined live pilchards. Since the spawn on the beach and in the passes is starting to come to an end we are seeing the occasional larger post spawn female on some of the outside mangrove points of the Manatee River and Terra Cia bay. There are more redfish showing up in the last two weeks and we should see more as we get into late August and early September. The redfish are starting to school now and into the fall and can provide some of the best inshore fishing action our area has to offer. The spotted seatrout fishing has remained decent over the deeper grass flats that are holding some bait fish of any sort.

As we get back into the swing of school do not forget that we are entering one of the best times of the year to do some inshore and near shore fishing. Lots of options and light crowds on the water make a good combination for a great day of fishing and making memories. Give me a call or text 813-220-8725 to inquire about fishing charters. You can also book directly on my website: https://www.onamissionfishing.com/