Yep, the heat and humidity are rising, and so are fishingprospects along the Indian River Lagoon Coast of Florida. Hot summer dayscan be brutal, so the wise angler and the fish will take advantage of thecooler nights and early morning and late evening hours to feed and stock theirprey, and then they snooze in the shade and deeper areas once the heat turnsup. So adjust your routine in June, July, and August, by fishing atnight, during the predawn hours, and in the late afternoon after work and reapthe rewards of the summertime fishing bonanza.




Look for the tarpon and shark numbers to increase along thebeach, and let's not forget about the schools of large jack carvalle and thetripletail as both of these fisheries are cranking up. Remember, snookseason closes this week, so let's give them a chance to relax and get jiggie.Try not to target them, and if you do happen to catch one, please handle itgently and release it with extreme care.




When the summer doldrums set in, the waters clear, and the seasflatten out, the window of opportunity opens for smaller boats, so near-shoreopportunities are typically the best you'll see all year along the beach. June is the time of year when the kingfish move in close shadowing schools ofAtlantic menhaden (pogies) along the beach and in the Port Canaveral buoy line,and slow trolling live pogies can result in some outstanding catches.




Offshore, look for the dolphin bite to slow as the schools beginto spread out. The kingfish concentration will remain good along theinshore reefs and wrecks of 8A Reef and Pelican Flats, so again slow trollingwith live pogies will produce the best action. Additionally, bottomfishing will remain good for snapper and grouper until the first summer squall(hurricane) blows in and muddies up the water.




On the flats, focus your efforts between 5am and 9am, and in thelate afternoon after the thunderstorms dissipate. Night fishing will alsoproduce descent catches of redfish and trout. When fishing the flats at night,I prefer fishing real slow with glow in the dark shrimp imitation baits likethe DOA Glow Shrimp with a Woodie's Rattle Capsule inserted. If you canonly fish during the heat of the day, target the docks with deepwater access. In the early morning look for trout and redfish up in the skinny water aroundconcentration of bait, and toss them your favorite top water plug. Alsolook for schools of bay anchovies (glass minnows) in deeper waters. Theseschools can be located by watching for small terns and other sea birds working,and they usually are shadowed by concentrations of small trout andladyfish. These fast moving schools produce fast and furious action forfly anglers casting small top-water popping bugs.

Remember as the days heat up, long battles will kill fish, so ifyou plan on targeting large fish please step up your tackle to shorten thebattle. Also, dissolved oxygen levels are low, so leave them in the wateras much as possible, and revive them completely before releasing them.

As always, if you need information or have any questions, pleasecontact me.