Expect good fishing this month but good fishing has a price… heat. Everything will be eating, so plan your trips now and take advantage of good summertime fishing.

Snook (Season Closed) Snook fishing in the summer is almost a given. Practically every angler is looking to catch them and given the amount of fishing pressure especially during weekends it’s a wonder they bite at all. Practically any mangrove shoreline holds snook provided there is bait and structure. Terrific ambush feeders Snook love lying in wait along shady mangrove root systems. Rocky shores and adjacent sand bars are also good places to investigate. Also early morning broken bottom grass flats produce well using topwater lures and soft plastic jerk baits, but remember live greenbacks always seem to do the trick.

Redfish June produces some good redfish days around the grass flats. Heavy pushes and mullet schools are key factors in finding moving or feeding redfish. Finding redfish means covering plenty of water, but once located they do not venture too far if there is food present. Keep in mind as long as there is food there is fish.

Although with the weekend fishing pressure, once a school is located it seems the general practice of most recreational anglers is pursuing the school up and down the grass flats. Sometimes there will be 10 to 20 boats hot on the trail of a school of redfish. Little do they understand, if they will not chase the fish they will stop and go back to feeding?  Live greenbacks and dollar-size pinfish are good choices. Do not forget the old standby… live shrimp and cut pinfish and ladyfish.

Spotted Sea Trout Trout fishing remains strong through the summer. Search out deeper grass flats looking for grass beds with plenty of broken bottom or potholes. Tampa Bay offers good fishing areas using live shrimp and greenbacks free lined or under popping corks. The many broken-bottom flats with potholes produce larger fish and an occasional flounder.

We’re also catching plenty of silver trout some topping the scale at a pound and a half to two pounds. These are great eating and awesome fun for the kids to catch.

Cobia Markers and sandy flats are good places for Cobia. They frequent markers especially those holding bait and cruise the flats usually following large rays.

Tarpon fishing really comes alive in June. They are everywhere and they are hungry, from the beach to the bay, these fish offer the catch of a lifetime. Large Greenbacks, Threadfins, and crabs, found abundantly throughout the bay and gulf, are excellent bait choices. Tarpon fishing around the Tampa area is good through the summer from the beaches all the way to the causeway.