Fishing with Capt. George Tunison | Beat the heat, storms by heading out early; a variety of fish await
Leave early and come home safely with delicious table fare. Red, mangrove and lane snapper, triggerfish and red grouper are all looking to bite as well as unpredictable, drag-smoking barracuda. Getting out to the 150-foot mark and beyond will put you in bigger specimen territory. Chumming them to the boat at night not only provides red-hot action but also provides relief from a red-hot sun. At that depth be ready for anything including cobia, dolphin and even possible sailfish.
Remember to follow state and federal regulations. On board you are required to use only non-stainless, non-offset circle hooks as well as a dehooking and descending device or venting tool rigged and ready for use. Also remember to sign up for your free State Reef Fish Angler designation by going to GoOutdoorsFlorida.com.
Keep well sun protected and extra hydrated as you bake and enjoy nature’s bounty. It’s wise to file a game plan with someone on land and make sure the boat is well stocked with emergency communication and first aid equipment as well as water and short-term food provisions.
Inshore, tarpon are still the star of the show with fish moving in and out of the passes and Charlotte Harbor with many fish still patrolling the coastline. Lots of action along the ICW throughout Pine Island Sound from St. James City up to Useppa Island. Schools of fish are moving along the channel as well as feeding in the adjacent island shallows which at times can produce outstanding sight fishing, especially for the quiet push-poled skiff angler. One favorite blind searching tactic is to slowly electric motor along the channel edges with a pair of hand-sized baitfish staggered back behind the boat under floats or freelined.
Night bridge fishing is good especially at the Sanibel Causeway where I recently witnessed a huge goliath grouper trying to eat a small tarpon at boat side, which was definitely a first for me.
Best to take two rods if you like to cast lures: one set up for big, 12-inch-size eels and big paddle tails and another set up to cast smaller soft plastics like D.O.A. Baitbusters, Z-Man Mulletrons and Hogy 5-inch paddle tails. Hogy’s sickle or Barbarian jig heads really locks onto a tarpon’s jaw helping to keep the fish pinned during violent, gill rattling and high jumping displays.
As summer progresses, more bait, tarpon and sharks will move into Charlotte Harbor where following the birds will tip you off to the huge ladyfish schools murdering bait with tarpon lurking around and below them also picking off bait and unlucky ladies. At this time, the deep holes in the harbor will also attract a variety of fish, including jumbo sharks as well as tarpon. The north end of Matlacha Pass is another mid- to late-summer tarpon target zone. Set up with anglers in the front casting soft plastics ahead, with a live ladyfish under a float trailing the boat as you move slowly forward with the trolling motor casting to the edges of the bait schools and feeding frenzies. Some old salts will also drag a D.O.A. Baitbuster under a float with no rod or lure action given.
This time of year, if the east side of the harbor, including Matlacha Pass, isn’t producing quality snook or redfish, you’ll often find better fishing by moving your efforts to the west behind the barrier islands where the water is cooler, cleaner and well oxygenated.
Right now anglers are catching lots of smaller snook with many complaining about trophy fish being scarce. It’s true trophy-sized stocks like those that were present before the big freeze of 2010 are down but big fish are still available. Most casual anglers lack the required patience to catch them.
Up the trophy odds by going on the night shift fishing big structure like bridges and passes with large live baits or large soft plastics.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at captgeorget4@yahoo.com or (239) 440-1621.