SWFL Fishing Forecast for July, 2021

Well we have made it into our summer months. As our water temps rise locating fish in deep water can be a must to ensure you have a successful day. Especially if your looking for tarpon or bait. Over the past few years our electronics have became a very valuable asset. When I first started guiding things where very simple. I ran a Hewes Flats Boat, that was a bare simple boat. My tools where simple, I had a push pole and an ambition to show my clients fish. It was a time that polarized sunglasses was the talk of the fishing community. Over the years we have seen our fishing evolve into something that no fisherman would've ever imagined. I guess what you would call fish finders, have morphed into very sophisticated pieces of equipment. We now have the ability to scan from the side, this is known as side imaging. We can change our options to show detail that would have never been thought of just a few years ago. I can tell if what I’m seeing on my screen is a school of tarpon, or a school of jacks. When it comes to locating bait, different bait likes to hang in different columns of the water. For instance pilchards will school closer to the bottom in deep water, and herring will be midlevel. As electronics evolve as fishermen we have to evolve also. I know it can be tough getting used to using your equipment, but it can also be exciting. The better I get and learn things the more excited I get. One day fish won’t be able to win the big game of hide and go seek.

Alright lets talk a little about what’s going on with our fishery. I am blown away about how much fry bait is in the harbor. This is a great sign that we had a successful spawn. I’m hoping that if our bait had a great spawn that also our game fish did. Over all the harbor seems very healthy, we could use some rain to equal some of our brackish areas out. For this time of year our salt content in the north end of the harbor including our river mouth is higher than normal. The downfall of this could be if the snook felt comfortable enough to spawn in areas that they didn’t in previous years. We get a tropical depression that dumps multiple inches of rain, and washes out what was once a high salt level area. Hopefully our snook population has had their big spawn cycles and the eggs have taken and hatched. The great thing would be that the small fry doesn’t have to make a migration to a brackish environment. Its all come down to mother nature, and she seems to always come out on top. The only way to ensure a successful day on the water? You got to keep your bait wet!

If you would like to experience some of Charlotte Harbor’s finest fishing give me a call or send me an email. All of our trips are private and customized to fit you and your party’s needs.

You can also follow me on Twitter @ backbayxtremes for daily and weekly updates.

Capt. Dave Stephens
941-916-5769

Captain Dave Stephens * (941) 916-5769 * Back Bay Xtremes * PO Box 510746, Punta Gorda FL 33951

Flats Fishing Charters for Charlotte Harbour, Punta Gorda, Florida