Fishing: Summer has come at last!

The rains are beginning ... it is raining now as I write this ... Tropical Storm Alberto is moving into the Gulf.

We need the rains, without a doubt, not only landsides to quell some of the brushfires, but for the snook fishing. We need the fresh water to start flowing out of the backcountry to kick-start the really big snook.

They are here, we have been catching them offshore regularly, but the large numbers of big fish have not really showed up in the passes and rivers ... not yet anyhow. The rains from this storm should make all the difference in this world.

We have been catching lots of snook, just not lots of big ones Overall, fishing has been pretty darn good as of late. Although we did have a slow spell last week fishing top water plugs ... plenty of fish around. We just had a hard time getting them to come up.

Those fishing live bait have been doing very well, however ... very well There seem to be more red fish around this year than in years past ... they have been making great targets of the flies and jigs when sight fishing.

Of course, with their keen sense of smell and relatively poor eyesight, a live bait always seems to work wonders.

It seems that tarpon are everywhere ... on the inside and outside. They are, however, very finicky right now ... timing is very important!! Just because we see them does not mean that we will catch them. They tend to fall into fairly regular and predictable patterns this time of year.

Once we get them figured out, we usually can do well (at least until the tarpon figure us out!) Last evening, while the grill was doing its thing, we slipped out for about a half-hour with the fly rods.

The 20-30 pound 'poon-ettes were going at it!! We released two on fly before we had to scurry back before the tenderloin was over-cooked! During July and August, we do the late afternoon/evening tarpon trips.

These are some of my favorite (and some of the most productive) trips ... easy, fun fishing. A good cold drink, a good cigar and good friends and just a bit of luck make for a great evening ... the"gentleman trips". On these trips anyone can catch a tarpon.

I love the summer fishing!