| Fishing Report for July 2009 Summer is here and the fish are showing up for the season in full force. The inshore temps are pushing 80 degrees and rising. The redfish are pushing into the backwater marshes and feeding on high tide. The early morning bite on topwater lures has been great fun, but the midday bite has been best with live shrimp and baitfish. The flounder are working their way out of the creeks and rivers and are beginning to feed. Live baits and gulp shrimp are the ticket to some tasty flatfish. Keeper flounders are showing up around the inlet, and will be more plentiful towards the end of the month. The big boys will be herded up on the nearshore reefs and calm days will mean live baiting big flatties off the beach. Black drum and sheepshead are all over the backwaters this month. Live crabs and no drags is the rule for structure fishing these delicious fish. The speckled trout are dropping their eggs in the sound and will be plentiful for the month of July until the heat of August turns them off. Live shrimp and shrimp imitation artificials are the keys to catching summer specks. Bluefish from 1-4 pounds are all over the place and crashing topwaters and jigs with reckless abandon. The spanish mackerel bite will be on fire this month. Trolling the beaches with spoons and plugs will produce limits of smaller spanish, while live-baiting the nearshore reefs is the ticket to the large breeder fish. Most trips are bringing in 5-10 spanish over 4-pounds with a couple kings mixed in. The king mackerel are running up off the beach, and so are the cobia and amberjack. On calm days, we are going to be live bait fishing, trolling, and chumming for all these ocean dwellers. Night fishing offers an exciting alternative to the heat this month. Big ladyfish and bluefish are crashing the surface every night waiting for a live shrimp to drift past. Specked trout and flounder are often caught on the night trips as well. |