By ED WALKER, Times Correspondent
Published August 5, 2005
Although few would consider August one of the best months for inshore fishing, anglers can find decent action by fishing at the right time of day - or night - and that means pretty much any time but mid afternoon.
When the sun is high, water temperatures on shallow flats rise into the 90s, which usually makes fish sluggish. Such conditions are also uncomfortable to the angler, and the mornings and evenings start looking pretty good.
Typically sight-casting for snook along the beaches is reliable in August. Nice fish congregate between the sandbars and the shoreline from daybreak until 10 or 11 a.m. Getting out of the boat and walking along the sand is one of the best ways to approach them.
A common mistake is to wade into the water while casting for beach snook. The fish are usually very close to shore, and wading not only spooks them but reduces your visibility. By staying on the beach you will be several feet higher than you would be in the water, enhancing your ability to see fish. Walking on the shore also allows you to scan a large stretch of beach quietly.
It's a good idea to take a bait bucket containing a handful of live baits that you can stash nearby. Nothing is more frustrating than having to walk long distances back to the boat for a bait after finding a nice pod of snook. By mid day the fish usually become finicky then drop to deeper water, and its time to move on.
That's how fishing for beach snook usually goes.
The persistent Red Tide has shut down the snook fishing on some beaches and disrupted normal their patterns. In many areas the fish have disappeared, and in others they are lethargic and reluctant to feed. Late last month we found a school of 75 to 100 snook along the beach that at first looked like prime targets, but judging by their response to our live baits, we figured they were not healthy. None would bite, then a herd of dolphins charged over the sand bar and easily grabbed as many as they cared to take.
We surmised those fish had experienced a touch of Red Tide to the south and migrated north to escape it. Somewhere along the way the dolphins picked up on them and worked them over.
Dive instructor Chad Carney saw schools of huge snook at several artificial reefs as far as 12 miles off St Petersburg last week. He said he had never seen them there before. With Red Tide returning to Tampa Bay and the southern beaches, it appears the snook are trying to avoid it.
In years past there has been a good run of tarpon along the beaches in August. This late-season rally revolves around massive schools of tiny baitfish such as glass minnows and Spanish sardines. So far that seems to be behind schedule or eliminated because of the Red Tide, but if things clear up there could be one last good tarpon bite before most of them depart for points unknown.
Fishing at night for sharks can be an exciting way to spend a summer evening. The really big ones hang around the bridges spanning Tampa Bay during the late summer to feed on huge black drum and the resident tarpon population. Giant bull sharks and hammerheads are caught with surprising regularity by experienced anglers fishing with extra-heavy tackle under the bridges. Three-hundred-pounders are common, and some easily top 450 pounds. Wrestling a 400-pound bull shark on heavy tackle is definitely not for the faint of heart.
Smaller sharks such as blacktips, spinners and black noses are also prolific in the summer. Schools of them often can be spotted during daylight hours as they slowly move around the outer edges of remote sand bars near Passage Key and the bar north of Anclote Key. Anchoring along the edges of these spots after dark and chumming can provide fast action, and with medium spinning tackle it is a lot of fun. Live baits such as grunts and pinfish seem to work best, although they will eat a chunk of fresh-cut bait as well.
With the lingering Red Tide it is difficult to guess exactly how the fishing will shape up this month. Hopefully the nasty outbreak will dissipate and things can return to normal.
