July and August Fishing Report

Posted on August 22nd, 2010

MAGIC Fishing Adventures

Weather’s not the only thing that’s been SMOKIN’ HOT….. Trout fishing’s absolutely on fire! We’re encountering huge gator trout daily, in fact I haven’t seen monster trout action like this in years. Live bait has been the ticket to our success with greenbacks being the overwhelming bait of choice. Greenies however aren’t the only game in town, just ask Bill from Texas who early one morning caught almost a dozen trophy size trout while topwater plug fishing aboard the MAGIC.

If you’ve been dreaming of a good old fashion fish fry then your in luck. Mangrove snapper to 16″ have started schooling for there annual spawn and the bite is on. These guys are not only tasty table fair but they’re a lot of fun to catch on light tackle as 10 year old Jason from Atlanta discovered while fishing with his parents aboard the MAGIC. By the time our fishing trip was over we had caught our limit of mangs along with lots of trout, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel and several snook. A 100 fish morning, how awesome is that!  

Its impossible to think about the month of August without visions of redfish coming to mind. Reds are one of my favorite fish to have on the business end of a rod as there bulldog type runs are like no other on the flats. Adam from Lexington, Kentucky experienced there power first hand aboard the MAGIC while catching this 28″ bronze bruiser. Schooling reds can best be found at sunrise and sunset when light conditions are low. Just look for what appears to be a mountain of water slowly pushing over shallow grass beds and you’ve found your school. Reds are super spooky so be sure to make a slow quite approach as this is an absolute must for success. You can’t beat a well placed live shrimp, but my favorite bait would have to be a 1/4 oz Johnson silver spoon or a topwater Zara Spook.

If you thought tarpon fishing in Sarasota was over by mid August you might want to talk to Jeff from Baltimore who this past week had his hands full battling his first ever tarpon, a 110 pounder. The excitement began when we tossed a ladyfish in the middle of a dozen or so silver kings feeding on a school of glass minnows. Once our ladyfish hit the water it only took a matter of seconds for the line to come tight as our tarpon went on his first hundred yard blistering run. The battle lasted for over a hour and the rest, you might say, is history. Nice job Jeff…

Sunsets in Sarasota are always spectacular! A special thanks to Tommy Gupton for sharing his photo.

Captain Alan