Summer Fishing Florida
WHETHER IT’S A LAST-MINUTE EVENING TRIP TO BEAT THE SUMMER HEAT OR AN ALL-DAY EXCURSION ON THE WEEKEND, I STILL FIND THE TIME TO GET MY FIX.
As you grow up, life gets hectic and finding the time to hang out with friends becomes increasingly difficult. This summer was filled with a few family trips, and nonstop work helping build Florida Fishing Products. Even though my free time has been limited, finding time to get on the water to unwind is a must. Whether it’s a last-minute evening trip to beat the summer heat or an all-day excursion on the weekend, I find a way to get my fix. As the temps starts to cool down here in Florida, I can’t help but reminisce on some of the spontaneous fishing trips from earlier this summer.
It was 4:30 p.m. on a Thursday with my friends Billy and Brooks, and I just launched the boat on Pine Island. We came up with the a game plan for the few hours we had. The goal was to catch a few redfish, but sometimes you just need to go with the flow. After netting some bait and finding a few trout instead of the redfish we were after, we decided to change plans and headed over to some docks to pitch baits under for Snook. Our decision paid off and we found what we were looking for. Brooks even caught a red to complete his inshore slam.
On our way in we decided to do our good deed for the day by towing in a broke down boat filled with guys who couldn’t speak a lick of English. Our 15-minute ride back to the ramp turned into a 2-hour idle, but the guys were very thankful and we figured it may give us some good fishing juju our next trip out. At the boat ramp, we added to our juju by picking up some mangrove shoots to be propagated and eventually planted by our friends over at MANG.
On this second trip, we were very fortunate to have a killer day on the water. It’s always nice to have friends that you’re able to pick back up with right where you left off after not seeing them for a bit. My good friend Will is definitely one of those guys. In August, we were able to head out fishing for the first time in quite a while. On our way to chase Redfish and Snook, we jumped a note-worthy tarpon. After deciding it was a bit of a lucky catch, we proceeded to our original plan. Find the redfish.
We found the Snook with some Trout mixed in, but we couldn’t quite find the Redfish we were after. As a last-ditch effort, we hit one more spot on the way in. After slowly working down the shoreline on the hunt for redfish, we realized we were the ones being hunted.
A massive wall of water began heading our way. This wasn’t your group of dolphins or a large mullet school, it was a signature push from a large school of reds. Without hesitation, we both casted and immediately doubled up. As we fought the two fish, the school of reds pushed right under the boat and shot off behind us. After landing and releasing both fish, we saw two more groups of fish pushing our way.
Two more casts, and two more overslot reds slam our baits. It doesn’t take long until we see yet another school of about 75 fish heading straight at us once again. We place two more casts into the school, and once again doubled up. A triple double! We each landed the last two fish, took some pics, and called it a day just in time to get home for dinner.
The summer of 2017 has officially passed and we are nearing the conclusion of another year. These were just two of many summertime trips I was fortunate enough to experience. Often times anglers associate summer with rain and heat, but when you pick the right tides the fishing can be hot as well.
Good Fishing,
-Wyler Gins