Gag grouper have been plentiful around the 100-140′ range. However, they can be caught anywhere from 30-300′. Live pinfish are still the bait of choice and have also been pretty easily attainable on the flats these past couple weeks as well. Red snapper have been productive the past couple weekends, with some larger model fish reported in about 160′. The yellowtail snapper bite continues to be fantastic in roughly 80′ of water or about 20-22 miles out. Several cobia have been reported this week in the nearshore gulf. Pinfish work well for these in adition to other live baits…shrimp, pilcards and numerous artificials also. Mangrove and lane snapper have been consistent nearshore in about 50-80′. Also, a few bonita and kingfish were reported from that depth this week. It shouldnt be long!! Inshore action is starting to change up a bit. Several redfish schools, some decent trout and some smaller snook were mentioned in the north Sarasota Bay this week. Bait in the bay is solid with a range of pins, large pilchards and smaller minnows. Keep in mind, the changes in water temp will generally dictate the size of the bait. Once the water temp drops again… then bait will get a bit smaller typically. Keep this in mind when throwing a castnet. There have still been some big groups of larger snook, jacks and juvenile tarpon near the mouth of Phillippi Creek in the intercoastal waterway. Smaller (3-4″ NLBN) paddletails in white, gold or greenback color work very well on the flats in addition to pompano jigs and gold spoons. Soft plastics such as ‘lil jons’ are always a favorite! A few groups of bull redfish have been reported offshore which means we should be seeing more of them soon! Bring on the fall weather! Tight Lines
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