This time of year its hard to go wrong when your fishing on the Big Bend.

For trout, either tide – incoming or outgoing – is good. Close in flats with rock grass in 3 to 5 feet of water is the most productive water. Popping corks with a glow colored soft plastic will get the bite. 

For redfish, work the incoming tide around the outside keys. I’ve been using live shrimp under a cork south of the Homosassa River or a gold spoon. North of the river, live shrimp have been productive as well as live pinfish or cut mullet.

Snook fishing has also been good near the outside points and adjacent deep holes near the key. A few anglers have been cast netting whitebait (threadfin herring or scaled sardine). Running out to deeper water you can find them dimpling the surface on a calm day or around structure like channel markers.

As soon as the water cools, they will be south of us. Some of the anglers will chum with the whitebait and its a common practice south of us, but I believe it conditions the snook to only respond to live bait. 

Offshore, the gag grouper bite is game on. Live pinfish is the best bait. The best depth starts at 14 feet.

There is also a good mangrove snapper bite on live shrimp on the same rocks.

High incoming tide will be in the afternoon this weekend. 

Homosassa Weekly Fishing Report from Captain William Toney

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