Coastal Fishing Concepts
by Capt. Charlie
Thomason
Beat the Heat
Anglers, I guess we can call this summer one
for the record books! Man, it has been the
hottest summer for sure when it comes to sitting
out on the Gulf fishing. Many times over the past
few months clients would
say, “This is the hottest
it’s ever been when fishing down in Hopedale.”
As we know, fish are just
like us - they would
rather sit in the air conditioning than out in the
hottest areas around.
August is always one of
the warmest months of
the year and one of the most active when it
comes to tropical development. With this in
Bayou Charters
(504) 278-FISH
mind, I want to go over a couple of Concepts
that will help you produce more fish when most
anglers are having a hard time just finding fish.
Remember there is a huge difference between the water’s surface
temperature and bottom
temperature. I always
talk about this concept at
my monthly seminars at
Academy Sports and
Outdoors. A great analogy I love to use to help
anglers understand the
difference in temperature
along the water column
is when you jump in a pool or in water in your favorite lake, you always notice that the surface
temperature is warm but the water at your feet is
a much cooler. This difference in temperature
from the surface down the water column is how
fish tend to move during different times of the
day.
During the warmest months of the year, early
morning and late evening are some of the most
productive times for anglers fishing shallow waters along the Gulf Coast. The reason for this is
that the surface temperatures will be at their lowest and fish tend to feed more and become more
active as the sun begins to crest the horizon.
Topwater lures such as the MirrOlure She Dog
and Top Dog are great choices during these low
light conditions. As you may have seen on my
Continued