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Venice Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico
Capt. Dave Pinkham
August 20, 2001
Venice - Saltwater Fishing Report
August Fishing on the Gulf can be Hot!
August can offer up some great fishing as long as weather conditions allow. With the long hot days and warm nights the warm Gulf's waters will reach their peak summer temperatures. Because of this, the short bottom (inside of 50' deep) will not produce as many big grouper as in the cooler months. Following is a list of fish to target in the month of August.
Spanish Mackerel - are plentiful right now offshore. Try netting up some live shiners along the beach or ICW and heading out on the Gulf for some action. Anchoring the boat and free-lining the live bait on the surface works best.
Little Tunny - offer great action. They will often show up just about anywhere when you are using live baits. Although they offer poor eating quality, you should appreciate the battle when you get one on the end of your line.
Dolphin - this fish also known as Mahi Mahi move up the West Coast within our reach this time of year. Best bet will to start looking for them no closer than 20 miles offshore.
Snapper - Mangrove, Lane, Yellow Tail, Mutton, and American Red - best fishing holes will be hard bottom, ledges, springs, and wrecks. Snapper can be somewhat finicky at times so it can be wise to use as light as gear as possible. I prefer natural baits such as crabs, shrimp, live shiners, and squid.
Grouper - will tend to hang close to structure such as wrecks, ledges and hard bottom. I like to anchor just up current or directly over where I think the fish are. Live and cut baits will get them feeding.
Sail Fish and Wahoo - this is probably the best time of year on the West Coast to find for them. Start your search at least 40 miles out. As when fishing for dolphin look for weed lines and surface activity.
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