September has begun with a number of lengthy storms, in addition to the more typical afternoon showers that are par for the course for summers here in Florida. Therefore, be sure to continually check the forecasts prior to your trip and continually check in on live radar apps such as MyRadar, while on the water.

Water temps are hanging in the high 80’s and with the big swinging tides this time of year the flow of water in and out of the bay has kept the fish feeding throughout the day. Fish deeper pot holes while on the flats and move closer to the mangrove shades as the sun begins to reach its peak midday. The big outgoing afternoon and evening tides have made for some hungry waiting fish on the corners of cuts and oyster bars inshore.

Our redfish bite is heating up with the big bulls starting to show in the deeper parts of the bay, while the snook bite around the beaches continues to produce. Although the season opened for snook on September 1, please do your best to practice catch and release when possible to continue allowing the species to rebound from the red tide spells and sewage dumps that have severely decreased the population over the last few years.

One species I really want to highlight in this report is our speckled trout bite. The numbers of trout in our area since those terrible red tides a handful of years ago, killed off and moved out just about every trout in our region. However, over the last couple of months we have been consistently catching trout. Not only are we seeingbigger numbers of trout caught, but actually bigger sizes of trout, which is a good sign for breeders continuing to reproduce and strengthen the population going forward.

The Spanish Mackerel bite has turned on in the bay and near shore, along with the mangrove snapper. On a few trips lately, we have managed to catch some of the biggest mangrove snapper this year, some coming in the 18-inch+ranges. The bait has been steady and you can expect a mixed size of smaller baits in shallow water and near the surface, while the bigger baits are sitting close to the bottom in cooler water. Mojarras are a money bait ticket in the summer, as the big snook and redfish can rarely turn them down.

Good luck out there this month,

Capt. Skylar

The Suzuki Repower Fishing Report is sponsored by Mastry Suzuki Repower

Capt Skylar Wilks
Inspired Fishing Charters
www.Inspiredfishingcharters.com
813-310-6280
Capt. Skylar on Instagram

Hi – I’m Captain Skylar Wilks and I am a full-time Tampa Bay Inshore Guide, residing in Madeira Beach. I grew up spending my weekends and summers fishing with my Grandparents who live across the street from the Madeira Beach Marina. In 2011, I moved a bit further south to Fort Myers and attended Florida Gulf Coast University, with a scholarship to play Division 1 soccer. When I wasn’t playing soccer, I was spending my time learning the waters and fishing in Sanibel, Estero Bay, and the Naples area. In 2015, I graduated with a degree in Business Management and moved back to Madeira Beach to launch my fishing business, Inspired Fishing Charters.