Capt. George Tunison

Even the fish are complaining about the heat! If your inshore trout, redfish and linesider game is not paying off, move your hunt closer to the more oxygenated and cooler Gulf waters. Try fishing the ICW areas and the back sides of the barrier islands as well as out front where most of the summer snook stocks are enjoying the summer beaches only interrupted by cruising pods of tarpon patrolling the coastline. Tarpon not beach cruising will spend the rest of the summer in Charlotte Harbor and the passes till late fall cool downs will send them south.

Fill the tanks and leave the dock early to enjoy offshore bottom fishing but be sure to have various other rods rigged and ready to cast to stray cobia that could show up anywhere or king and Spanish mackerel that will take a trolled or cast lure. If you’re out far enough, think of rigging up a bare hooked spinning outfit to pitch live bait to a sailfish school. Point is that when an opportunity presents, itself unless you’re pre-rigged, it’s usually over before you can to react to it. With many reef fish moving even deeper with summer’s heat, putting in more miles to reach them often means more varied opportunities, like running into floating debris and mahi-mahi.

If you bring home red grouper this weekend, be prepared to explain to an officer why as harvest closed last Friday, but you have until Monday the 31st to catch an even tastier red snapper. Not all fish have moved to the horizon as our near-shore reefs still host a variety of gamefish.

Carry wet ice chilled towels in your cooler to put around your neck. Have two per person and changing them often makes a huge difference along with frequent hydration and proper clothing.

If you or anyone aboard feels weak, dizzy or confused, get to shade, cool them with your towels, return them to the dock and get them treated by emergency medical if necessary. Better safe, not sorry.

Often getting kids to do something properly is like herding cats, but make sure they are well protected and wearing (and keep wearing) proper clothing, head and eye protection. We now know that sun over-exposure and bad burns at a young age can lead to serious adult skin and eye issues as well as early skin aging especially living here in the Sunshine State.

Probably the most overlooked body parts continue to be noses, ears, scalps, hands and legs. I recently had two skin cancers removed from my leg probably from living in shorts. Baseball caps, especially mesh topped hats, offer little sun protection. Good news is more and more anglers are covering up. Long pants and sleeves, sun gloves, big hats and full head coverings are the dress of today’s sun aware angler.

Most dermatologists recommend sun screen products but personally I choose to simply cover up. I don’t want to add more chemicals; the toxic bug spray is already bad enough. Why do you need bug spray if you’re covered up? Go fish a summer, Southwest Florida mangrove shoreline at 5:30 a.m. that’s home to several million no-see-ums and report back.

With the oven on high, night and home before 11 a.m. fishing works best for most anglers and the fish as well. If, like me, you’re a dedicated summer night owl casting for that big bite in the darkness, one personal protection often overlooked is eye protection. Due to an accident, I’m down to one eye and why I wear lightweight, clear, safety glasses when casting lures at night. Over the years I’ve been hooked by myself, but mostly by others, in the neck, scalp, ears, back, cheeks (top and bottom), hands and other body parts, and that’s in the day time. Night fishing definitely amps up the personal danger factor and permanent eye damage is a real consideration.

Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at 239-282-9434 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.