Getting fish to eat on the moon the last week was difficult to say the least. We experienced the bite just Turn COMPLETELY OFF early in the day. During the 3 days leading up to and past the Full Moon are especially tough to fish unless of course you are fishing the night bite, especially for Snappers like mango. Mango and other snappers love chewing on the moon at night. Regular day fishing however, combined with these water temps (hovering around the 87 Degree mark), can be difficult. The past few days the Offshore Fishing has picked up. Tremendously.
Again, we have been targeting fish in 200-300 Feet. On the Red Snapper, Dead Bait has been best. Domestic Sardines and Boston Macks have been preferred. Fishing the same bottom, dropping a healthy looking Pin Fish has resulted in nice sized Gag Grouper and delicious scamp. Taking the time to catch your Pins on the way out has been preferred as the bait looks fresher and has better color than trap caught bait.
Between fishing holes we have also been raising sail fish swimming circle hooked Ballyhoo and dropping a box of Glass Minnows in our transom well. Always be prepared as there are more of these fish out there than people think.
Nearer Shore (70-100 Foot) there is a LARGE influx of fry bait. Its pretty easy to find as you will see Bonita boiling over it. You never know what you may catch in these areas.
We still have a few days left for the Charter Fisherman Combined Gag Grouper and Red Snapper season (however we are booked). I highly recommend that if you would like the shot at some of the MONSTER sized fish you see us catch next year, pre-book your trip ASAP as we booked the entire season this year within 3 days of it being announced. Your $100 deposit will insure you do not get left behind on one of these epic trips.
/ Capt. John
Pictures from our Trip on July 7th 2015 With Capt. John
