Adapt to weather conditions in August for fishing action
As Anna Maria Island anglers settle into the second week of August, the weather patterns are becoming tropical in nature causing both the fish and the angler to adapt to the current conditions.
Many weather variables ranging from extreme heat, strong winds, thunderstorms and even hurricanes are potential obstacles this time of year so paying extra attention to the daily forecast and watching the weather radars frequently when you’re on the water can be of some importance.
And these conditions all have an impact on where you’ll be fishing and what you may be targeting.
On those hot, sunny days when the water temps are near 90 degrees, you’ll probably want to fish right around sunrise for a few hours and then call it, especially when you’re fishing the flats.
In most instances, snook, redfish and trout will have a brief feeding time in the early morning before water temps get too hot at which time they will find a cool spot under a mangrove limb or in a deep hole to escape the heat.
On the other hand, if it’s overcast and water temps remain lightly cooler your window of opportunity to find the flats fish in the on the feed may extend indefinitely throughout the day.
In recent weeks the best bite seemed to occur during the overcast days where the water temps were manageable in the low to mid 80s.
With numerous days of intermittent rain and good cloud cover, water temperatures drop triggering more activity on the flats resulting in better action and larger periods for the anglers. On the calmer days when the Gulf waters are smooth and clear many anglers opt to venture to deeper waters to find a bite. Bottom fishing in depths of 40-60 feet can yield great action on snappers and small groupers. At these depths, a milder, more consistent water temp exists creating a comfortable environment for the species to frolic and feed.
And moving out deeper to depths of 100-feet or more can lead to larger species like mature groupers, red snapper and many migratory species like tuna, wahoo and cobia.
Most importantly when fishing offshore — it’s crucial to keep an eye on the weather especially in August when conditions can change almost instantly.
In any case, August weather could be labeled volatile at best, so planning accordingly is in your best interest.
Remember, finding the fishing the flats on the cooler overcast days is a good option and on those hot steamy days with no wind try venturing into deeper waters to find a more consistent bite.
On my own Just Reel charters, mangrove snapper are the highlight for those anglers who wish to have some fish for dinner.
Limits are still attainable on most days when fishing around the slack parts of the tide. Most snappers are 12-16 inches, with a few larger examples mixed in for lucky anglers. After catching snapper, I’m moving to deeper flats of Sarasota Bay to target spotted seatrout. Numerous small trout 12-14 inches have infested the flats, but persistence is paying off with catches of trout up to 22 inches mixed in.
Fishing mangroves for redfish yields good action during the higher stages of the tide with catches up to 30 inches. Catch-and-release snook are mixed in with this bite with some slot fish included.
