Venice Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico
Capt. Dave Pinkham
June 24, 2004
Venice - Saltwater Fishing Report
July Gulf of Mexico fishing forecast
The month of July offers gulf anglers fishing out of Venice, Florida a wide variety of fishing opportunities. Moving into the summer season, anglers can look foreword to some hot fishing action to go with the warm weather.
Spanish mackerel are usually plentiful this time of year just offshore of area beaches. Mackerels generally hang over hard bottom or close to tiderips that often will hold the baitfish they eat. Watch for birds such as terns feeding at the surface of the water. This is a dead-giveaway to baitfish and feeding mackerels. Trolling or casting small silver spoons in these areas is a quick way to provoke some action.
Little tunnys will offer anglers some great tackle testing action, and summer is the time to get them. As with the mackerels, they can often be seen feeding at the surface.
Triggerfish offer excellent table fare, and will be found on bottom structures such as ledges and the artificial reefs. Because they have relatively small mouths, make sure to rig down and go lighter on your terminal tackle. Small hooks and light lines can be a key factor to putting some triggerfish in the boat. Best baits should be shrimp, shiners, and squid.
Snapper fishing for species such as mangroves, lanes, yellow tails, and muttons is loads of fun and is sure to put some good dinner on the table. Best fishing holes will be hard rocky type bottom, ledges, springs, wrecks, and the county reefs. Snapper can be somewhat finicky at times so it often pays off to use as light as gear as possible. For leaders consider using clear fluorocarbon as it is less visible to the fish. I prefer using natural baits such as crabs, shrimp, live shiners, squid, and cut sardines.
Grouper fishing has been very good so far this summer. Red and gag groupers are the two species most common to this area. Gag groupers will tend to hang closer to structure such as wrecks, and ledges, whereas red groupers are often easier to locate as they will often hang on just about any type of bottom. When fishing for gags try to anchor just up current or directly over the ledge or wreck where you think the fish are. Good stiff stand up tackle works best for this type of fishing as a hooked gag grouper will make a hard run for the bottom structure. Red grouper on the other hand are often caught while drift fishing over an area of hard bottom. A good method to use when drift fishing is to tip a 4oz or 6 oz jig with squid or a strip of fish and just bounce it along the bottom as you drift.
Permit is a great summer game fish. Permit love to hang over bottom structure such as local shipwrecks, and the county artificial reefs. The best permit bait is live crabs.
Shark fishing peaks in the summer months. Be sure to bring some wire leader material so when the sharks do show up you are ready for them.
Dolphin fish (mahi mahi) often make a decent showing in the hotter months of the year. When targeting dolphin, start your search at least 20 miles offshore and be on the lookout for large bunches of sargassum grass or any other type of surface flotsam. One way to fish for them is to pull up along side this floating grass and sight cast to fish as they swim just below the surface. Try live free-lined bait when fishing this way. Often the larger dolphin will be feeding down deeper below the smaller fish. You can also try trolling along the edges of the weed lines.
Summer months are also the best time to run across blue water fish such as sailfish, marlin, and wahoo. To locate them with any consistency you’ll need to start your search at least 40 miles out. As when fishing for dolphin, look for weed lines and feeding activity at the surface.
Remember, if you're too busy to go fishing, you’re just too busy. Get out and go fishin, cuz it's good fer ya!
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