Sorry for the delay in getting out a report, but there have been many changes over the past two months at Hope Fishing Adventures.
The first and most exciting was the addition of a new boat to our fleet. She is a 1982 Proline 24’ Flatback, a classic West Florida boat. We had her stripped down to the bare hull and have completely remade her into a great fishing platform. You can check out the pictures on our site and see the transformation.
Now, on to the fishing. The only word I could use to describe the recent activity is AWESOME. My goal has been to target the PERMIT (my favorite species to catch) on the near-shore wrecks. But the weather has only cooperated a few days. On those limited days, the fish were there, and the bite was on (thanks to the ‘permit candy’ aka: the blue crab).
Due to the weather, I’ve mostly been fishing inshore. The REDFISH bite has been excellent. Lots of slot fish are being taken on each trip. With some over-slot fish in the mix as well. These fish are on almost every spot that I’ve been stopping at. At the same spots, we have also been pulling out SNOOK. Live bait is best, but a cut ladyfish will work just as well if you have one in the box. One surprise fish I have been catching from the mangroves is GAG GROUPER. A few legal, but most just under slot. I see these a lot in the winter, but can’t say I remember seeing them in 87°, 8’ deep water in the past. Maybe global warming has it good points! Mangrove Snapper are on just about every rock, oyster, mangrove and dock around right now. There are a lot of slot fish, if you are willing to pick through the thousands of shorts. They are hungry and willing to bite, so who’s complaining. Tarpon in the 20-40 lb class are everywhere right now. I have been jumping several lately with a few hookups, and some landed. It truly is awesome to see thirty tarpon gulping all around your boat.
Hurricane Isaac may have slowed down the action a bit for the near future. But, the month of September promises to be a great month. I have several trips booked, but there are still some openings available. So give us a shout and let’s go fishing.
Capt Charlie
