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Captain's Corner: Variety of baits gives you options

 
Published Aug. 17, 2018

Tossing a quarter-inch mesh net will fill your well with bait ranging from snapper bait all the way up to slab-sized redfish baits. Having a variety of bait opens up options. Snapper have been just about anywhere there is some kind of structure. Taking fresh bait and cutting them and dropping the pieces over the side draws in the snapper as well as a few Spanish mackerel. Snook have been feeding on the early incoming tide, but the majority of them are "micro" snook and are a lot of fun on an ultralight set up. Trout fed sporadically throughout the week, one day can be near-epic and the next near-dismal, a typical, deep summer bipolar pattern. Redfish numbers seem to be up. Finding the fish then patterning them are key. Sometimes this takes several attempts over several different tides before you get them dialed in. Over several years it pays off. Most of the fish I've been catching are in spots I fished 20 years ago. We are catching them the same way we did back then.

Tim Whitfield can be reached at (813) 714-0889 or tim@swiftfishcharters.com.