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August has been a truly unique month for fishing along the Nature Coast of Florida. Calm winds, little rain and an abundance of bait and opportunities have helped to keep the fishing as hot as the temperatures. During this time of year my clients and I have been targeting early morning departures in hopes of hitting the water early enough to join most of our local inshore and offshore species for breakfast. Redfish, Trout, Tripletail, Sharks, and Mackerel all have joined us during most of our inshore trips, while the Grouper, Kingfish, and the Snappers both Reds and Mangroves have joined us during our recent trips offshore. The early departures are important not only to beat the heat but to catch most of the fish at their most active stages.

Over the years during the dog days of summer it has always been apparent that most inshore and offshore species tend to be their most active during the early morning hours. For one the water temps are fairly cooler compared to the heat of the day, but most importantly most smaller bait fish feel more comfortable feeding during the low light hours of the day. During some of my most recent trips I have been targeting huge areas of schooling bait in hopes of finding Trout, Mackerel, Bluefish, and Tripletail inshore, and I can assure you that Mackerel, Bonita, and King Mackerel follow the bait pods during the early morning hours of the day also.

On a recent inshore trip out of Crystal River my clients Bill, Dori, Debbie Sullivan and I were spoiled when a large pod of bait soon became inundated with hundreds of sizeable Speckled Trout. For almost an hour we threw shrimp, pinfish, and Berkley Gulp! Jigs into the school. As soon as the fish heard the splash of the baits they were immediately engulfed by trout ranging from 17-24 inches. The action only came to a conclusion when we ran out of pinfish and shrimp. When your smack in the middle of a bite like this you can soon forget that you're fishing a frenzy in temps hovering in the mid to upper 90's. A few days later myself and client were fishing the same area when another giant pod of bait became swarmed by hungry Jack Crevalle. After releasing a few Jacks I finally hooked up with a pig of a fish. This fish drug me all over the boat before I realized I was hooked up with a hefty "Racin' Mullet." This Snook weighed in at 15 lbs and definitely made me realize that you never know what you're going to run into when chasing around large bait pods along the Nature Coast this time of year.

During an offshore trip with my clients Jay and Nancy Allen we used the same bait pod chasing technique one early morning and were able to boat a nice 30lb King Fish and a number of Bonita on light tackle. A major difference between chasing bait pods inshore and offshore is that through out the day many of the larger bait pods drop towards the bottom during the middle of the day offshore. Inshore most of the bait remains on the surface until the entire school is consumed. When offshore bait pods drop to the bottom it's time to start looking for Grouper and Snapper. Jay and Nancy found themselves in quite the tug-of-war when 10-15 lb Red Grouper started hammering their bottom rigs. All in all from catching Kingfish on the surface and then winching up Grouper from the depths both Jay and Nancy needed a few days to recover.

So if long, hard, drag screaming battles are what you're looking for Red Hot Fishing Charters can provide you with a fishing memory that could last you a life time. All signs are pointing to an excellent September and October so book your next fishing adventure today.

Capt. Kyle Messier
(352) 634-4002
kylemessier@yahoo.com
WWW.REDHOTFISHINGCHARTERS.COM