Fishing the heat; the back country challenges with lures

I advise early-morning or evening trips to avoid the heat. You can still catch fish during the day if you can take the sun. Shade helps! Our tarpon fishing has been all over the place. We’ve enjoyed excellent action and slower days too. Baitfish have been tough this year. Back-country fishing is good if you catch minnows, more challenging if you’re using lures. Trout action has been great, even on shrimp and lures. Offshore they are doing well on red snapper, red grouper and mangos.

Sharks are problems everywhere. They have messed up our tarpon fishing and offshore action. If you want big fish, enjoy shark fishing. Plenty of big bulls and others to play with. Break out the big gear. Goliath grouper still make it difficult to land fish on wrecks.

Tarpon are abundant most of the time. Slower tides can be tough to coax bites, especially when schools are shadowed by sharks. Crabs and squirrelfish are best baits. Stronger tide flows seem best. The clear water this year has made beach fishing challenging during the bright days. Try longer, lighter leaders? Rain should help fishing.

Please consider the fish’s health after long battles. It’s not legal to possess a tarpon over forty inches. Many still grab their trophy for a photo. This is very hard on your stressed-out fish. Please just tell everyone to get ready, then grab the leader and hope they take the shot. Many times, healthy silver kings jump and offer great opportunities if you are ready. Take several photos quickly.

Beach tarpon fishing depends on weather and wave conditions, water clarity and other boaters. If everything works out it is awesome. One idiot riding by you when things look perfect, and it’s over for a while. Aggressive fishermen mess each other up trying too hard. Happy fish feed, scared fish run. Greenbacks are a good choice for baits here. If you fail to maintain position in front of the fish you found, they are fair game to better captains.

Whitebait minnows are not as abundant as in most years. God only knows why. Too much pressure, too many harvested, too many boats, it’s hard to say. The crystal-clear water adds to the challenge if the sun is up. There is some tiny fry bait showing up. Let’s see how fast it grows up. Be patient and expect to work for minnows.

Snook and redfish are better so far this year. Dolphin predation and so many others fishing here just add to the challenges. Again, get there early, be patient and good luck. We do have fish but lots of fishermen. The Charlotte Harbor area has grown and lots of weekenders too.

Trout are abundant when you stumble into the schools of fish. Some schools with smaller fish, move on. Big fish eat little ones. Try deeper grassy areas and drift when you can. Stop when you catch a nice one. Move on when they stop. Rattle corks are recommended for natural baits.

Soft plastics are easy to learn to fish. I still like hard baits like the MirrOlures for larger fish. It’s critical to learn what works at the time you are fishing. Take time to learn and experiment.

Offshore action is good now. Red snapper require longer runs. Be safe and come home. The expenses of offshore fishing have prohibited many of us from that fishery. Red snapper, grouper, and offshore fishing is not a working man’s fishery anymore. Find a friend with a safe offshore boat and offer to help clean the boat and fish. It’s my best bet here. Everything is expensive.

Fishing has been discovered and has many challenges. It’s still fun when it works out and we do love it. More people equate to less fish, more regulations and more work. Try to discover a fishery you can afford and enjoy. Be safe and celebrate our 250th anniversary with family and friends.

Capt. Van Hubbard’s column Hook, Line and Sinker began in the Boca Beacon in 1988. He lives in Placida. Email him at captvanhubbard@gmail.com or text at 941-468-4017.