Mid Summer Update for the Crystal Coast

Hey everyone!  I wanted to take a minute to update you all on the summer fishing here on the Crystal Coast.  It's been a really great summer so far.  A few tough days due to weather or lockjaw fish, but overall most days have been very good for us.

Summer is all about Redfish, both tailers and topwater.  The topwater bite has been really great on most mornings, with fish crushing Skitterwalks and Spooks.  Its a great way to scout for fish too, since you can cover so much water with a plug, and fish can pick up on it from a good distance away.

We've been really lucky on a few trips recently where we've found big schools of Redfish in shallow water.  Schooling Redfish is not the norm at all for summertime, so we've really enjoyed this type of fishing when we've had the opportunity.  

If the Redfish haven't been chewing on topwater, we've switched up to gold spoons, chatterbaits or soft plastics to convince them to eat.  That's part of the game every single day...find the fish, then figure out how to make them eat.

We've also had some really good fly trips this summer, both low tide crawlers and high tide tailers.  Fly fishing for Redfish is always much tougher than clients expect, but the experience and payoff is always worth it.

And as always, a big part of that experience for myself and my anglers is watching that fish swim off after hunting and capturing it.  I like eating fish as much as everyone else, but I also want to make sure we are doing our part to keep this fishery healthy in the years going forward.

Although Redfish are our bread and butter in the summer, it's not the only fish you might run into.  There are some big Speckled Trout lurking about that will eat a topwater plug if they get the chance.  These fish aren't very common, so although we don't go out looking for them, we really appreciate when they show up to the party.  Image by Perry McDougald.

Although there is a moratorium on the harvest of Flounder, there are plenty of them around.   They will eat a spoon, plastic, or fly that swims anywhere near their face. We even got one on a topwater plug this week...pretty crazy.

There's still a lot more summer left, and I have plenty of openings if you want to come fish with me.  Whether that's topwater Redfish, low tide Reds, tailing fish on the flood tides, etc...we can make it happen.  Give me a shout and we can go after them while the fishing is as hot as the weather is.  And don't wait too late to contact me about fall fishing, October and November are booking up fast.  Thanks for all the support, I appreciate you all.  John

Fly eater.

Personal best for a great repeat client.

First Redfish on fly.

The reward for a well placed fly.

Heart shaped tail spot.

Sending another one back home.

It's rare that I get to catch a few.  Thanks for the pic Capt Perry McDougald!

LETS GO FISH!