JULY 2019 Fishing Report and AUGUST Forecast

JULY 2019 Fishing Report and AUGUST Forecast

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Capt. Rick Davidson, Editor (grassflats2@yahoo.com



Sea Hag JULY Report

The water has cleared a bit later on in the month, and there are scallop limits coming in to the Sea Hag. The offshore fishing has been spectacular with massive catches of snapper and gag grouper. While the grouper season will continue, red snapper will be closed to for-hire charters on August 1 (the recreational season ended July 12). There have been some giant kingfish brought in this month, and they are still around. Here are some pix from the Sea Hag this month:

Donald Moore from Columbus, Ohio with a whole bunch of tasty scallops.

Capt. Max Leatherwood took the Camps out for some redfish, spotted seatrout, sand trout and bluefish.
The Fletcher girls enjoyed their scalloping trip together.
Holly Neel came up from West Palm Beach to find this red snapper.
Jeff Deloche and Michael Moss with their scallop limits.
John Hull got a new airboat and used it to find this big redfish (I’m thinking his wife Peggy was the photographer).
Ray Hedgecock and his crew went way out and it paid off with giant gags, red snapper and mangrove snapper.
Marc Alain Babi went diving and tussled with this huge cobia.
Frank Sheffield took home this gag grouper for dinner…. several of them.
Talk about some big fish….check out these gags and snapper from the Sheffield group with Chase Norwood.
Regina Kerce knows where the scallops are….just ask her.
Talking about big fish….Capt. Wiley Horton took out this crew. Check the size of those kingfish and snapper.
Zach Bunkley and friend Connor hooked up with this Goliath grouper.
Sara Greenville came all the way from Abilene, Tx to find this hog snapper.

Sea Hag AUGUST Forecast

Scallop season is still going great guns (it’s open until September 10th).  This year has been a little challenging at times, but you’ve got to remember: scalloping is a family activity, and the idea is to have fun, not get your exact limit. If you’re frustrated, your kids will be too. Instead pull up at the Big Grass sandbar, go for a dip, refresh yourself, and go back to the search. In a few years, your kids will not remember whether you got five gallons or four, but they’ll remember the trip. If you’re totally new to the whole thing, consider getting a guide for a full or half-day charter. They’ve been doing very well recently. In terms of offshore fishing, snapper is closed, but amberjack opens August 1, and there are still plenty of grouper around. When you find hard bottom, always throw out a live bait of some kind with a float for kingfish or cobia. For trout and redfish….get up early. This time of year if I’m targeting redfish I’ll try to be on the water before sunrise, looking for baitfish and mullet, and fishing topwaters or suspending plugs near the shoreline or oyster bars. Last time I went we caught a number of nice fish but by 10AM the bite had died. There are some trout near shore in the early morning, but most of them are cooling their heels in 6 to 10 feet of water over grassy flats that they are sharing with lots of sand trout.  In my opinion, sandies fight harder and taste better than spotted seatrout; they’re also smaller and there are no limits. Fish jigs with Gulp baits near the bottom. Drift until you start catching fish and mark your spot (GPS is a whole lot easier than the weighted floats we used to use). While spotted seatrout tend to move around a lot in schools, sand trout will stay in an area longer. The best spots to start are around the nearshore bars…Little Bank, 9 Mile Bank and directly west of the Bird Rack. However, if you can find the right conditions you will find some trout. Popping corks on the flats are not likely to be that productive (the water temperature on the three foot flats is about five degrees warmer than in 10 feet of water).

There’s still plenty of time for you to take advantage of this scallop season for a relaxing family vacation. Remember, we have everything you will need (from accommodations to rental boats, dive gear, flags and licenses) so make plans now.

Capt. Kyle Skipper, www.m1fishing.com (352) 317-1654

This season has tested your scalloping skills a little more than years past but there are still plenty of scallops out there. We are still getting limits and having a blast doing it. I still have a little bit of availability for August and Sept if you would like to give it a try. Much love and tight lines.

Captain Chase Norwood

“Chase-N-Fish Charters”

(352) 672-7449  

https://www.chase-n-fish.com/

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