So far July has been excellant for inshore and offshore anglers.

Offshore- Our recent offshore trips have been limiting on Red Grouper in the 12-15 lb range, with a few bigger ones mixed in. The fish seem to be concentrated in the 80-90ft range on patchy hard bottom areas. As of June 1st anglers must use circle hooks while bottom fishing, this, along with a good venting and dehooking tool can drastically reduce the mortality of any undersize fish. The circle hooks also allow for a perfect hook up in the side of the fish’s mouth almost every time,  anglers on my trips have been catching more Grouper with these, than with the old  ”J” hooks. The Snapper bite continues to take the main stage, with American Red’s from 8-15lbs and Mango’s from 4-6lbs. We’ve been using live whitebait and light tackle to produce non stop action. The Black Grouper have moved to deeper water and are being taken on big live bait, the biggest fish are looking for a 6-10″ Grunt. Lastly, the Goliath Grouper are happily taking over every ledge and wreck they can find, these ‘catch and release’ fish provide a challenge for anyone interested in a back workout. The fish have been ranging in size between 100-200lbs.

Inshore- The Tarpon are still holding steady off the beaches, although the schools seem to be thining a bit. Snook have been cooperating in and around the major passes, these fish are closed for harvest, so be sure to handle them carefully before releasing. Shad and big Pigfish(Grunt) are still the ticket for the big Linesiders, get up early to improve your chances.

I’ve had several trips lately, both Offshore and Inshore, with parents and their kids (ranging from 6-16 years old). It’s always so refreshing to see the enthusiasm and excitement of a young angler catching fish, it’s also extremely encouraging to watch them release their trophy catch, not because they have to, but because they want to. These kids are extremely conservation minded, whether they know it or not, and that is very, very refreshing. - Thanks for reading-Capt. Brandon