Cooler temps coming this weekend

The Summer pattern has been with us for a while and it looks like we will finally have some relief coming this weekend. Our water is still hot, 85 degrees, and the bite has been lethargic at best. Kings have been few and small. The Spanish bite has been a small window of time at day break and sunset. Bait has been plentiful but limited to small Alewives, small Goggle eyes and Blue runners. Remoras, Sea Gulls and Pelicans have been worse than I can remember. They have been very aggressive and attacking bait in numbers. Drifting a bait for Kings has been almost impossible. My first ten bait yesterday produced 2 birds and 8 Remora.

We saw a few more Kings than we were able to coax to bite. Several times, a small King would make a pass at your bait only to have Remoras get it before they could. Needless to say it was a frustrating week. Even with these challenges, we managed to deck a few Kings. Last Thursday, Willy pulled one of his “show-up, hook-up” routines we have seen all to often. He had only been on the pier a few minutes when he tied into a “schoolie” King. Then Tuesday, I was able to deck two small Kings. They were nothing to brag about but well appreciated after the absence of fish we have endured all Summer.

As I said in the introduction, the Spanish bite has been a very limited window. However, decent numbers of them were caught in that short time frame. George managed a couple shy of a limit very early Tuesday morning. I got lucky with an “axe handle” that beat a group of Remora to my bait that afternoon.

Other action included a few Red Drum in skinny water and one Sheepshead. Mark’s tenacity paid off as he targeted the Sheepshead. He managed to get dinner with the first catch of the Fall that I am aware of.

Species caught: King/Spanish Mackerel, Red Drum, Sheepshead, Ladyfish and Blue Runners. Bait: small Alewives, small Goggle eyes and Hardtails and lots of tiny Alewives.

Water temperature: 85  

The Marine forecast for the next several days is:

TODAY

Southeast winds 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Dominant period 4 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.

TONIGHT

East winds 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Dominant period 4 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.

FRIDAY

Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 1 to 2 feet. Dominant period 4 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.

FRIDAY NIGHT

East winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 1 to 2 feet. Dominant period 4 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.

SATURDAY

East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Dominant period 4 seconds. Protected waters a light to moderate chop.

SATURDAY NIGHT

East winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet building to 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas up to 6 feet after midnight. Protected waters choppy. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening, then chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight.

SUNDAY

East winds 15 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas up to 6 feet. Protected waters a moderate chop. Chance of showers and thunderstorms.

SUNDAY NIGHT

East winds 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Protected waters a moderate chop. Chance of showers and thunderstorms.

MONDAY

Northeast winds 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Protected waters a light chop. Chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Local Forecast

• THURSDAY   (91/75, rain 0%, wind ESE-10)

• FRIDAY   (90/75, rain 10%, wind WSW-09)

• SATURDAY   (89/73, rain 20%, wind SE-11)

• SUNDAY   (87/72, rain 40%, wind E-14)

• MONDAY   (87/71, rain 40%, wind NE-09)

• TUESDAY   (86/69, rain 20%, wind NE-12)

• WEDNESDAY   (86/70, rain 40%, wind E-13)

Tight lines and screaming drags,
Sam