July 22- July 24: Lobbies with some butter!

July 20, 2016 - Posted by Steve Dall July 22- July 24: Lobbies with some butter! Weather & Tides… Following the passing of the full moon earlier this week, our tides will return to more normal levels with late morning low tides and late night negatives depending where you are at in the region. Weather should ith mid to late morning high tides this weekend, with strong falling tides in the afternoon, look to hit your favorite backcountry hot spots early enough to get back before the afternoon thunderstorms become an issue. As the weekend progresses expect the tides to strengthen with the approaching full moon on Tuesday of next week. Pack plenty of bottled water this weekend as the proverbial “Dog Days of Summer” are certainly upon us with heat indexes rocketing past the triple digit mark. Inshore…. You’ll launch your boat this weekend to a high tide and if you can make the coffee extra strong and get out early, there is still some good pre-dawn and sunrise action for snook. Decent linesiders continue to stalk the outside points and beaches and with a moderately strong outgoing tide, you can take advantage of their early feeding window as the tides flush bait from the backcountry to waiting snook on the outside points. Some nearshore permit are still lurking on notable wrecks out in the Gulf for those willing to put in the time to tangle with these powerhouses. Look for the wrecks with higher than normal relief and have some half dollar sized crabs soaking in your livewell. Simply set up on the up-current sides of the selected wreck and float your crab back to towards the structure. Be prepared to guide these fish away from the structure to ensure you don’t get cut off from these spirited fighters. Offshore Really good reports of keeper sized red grouper are coming in from 50-¬¬65 feet of water over hard bottom. They are chewing on a variety of baits, including cut threadfin herring, squid and squid tipped big bucktail jigs in pink, black and black and chartreuse. In the same depths and even closer to 40 feet, you’ll get bit nearly every drop from low teen sized lane snappers which make excellent fish tacos if you are feeding a crew or have the kids on board this weekend. Simple knocker rigs with cut squid or smaller pieces of threadfin herring dropped to the bottom will get them hooked up consistently. A bit deeper starting in the 85 foot range, bigger grouper are bending rods with some regularity along with back-breaking Amberjacks. The true bruiser reef donkeys are few and far between, but plenty of 15-25 pound AJ’s are out there for your enjoyment. Spiny Lobster The 2016 spiny lobster season opens with the two-day recreational sport season July 27 and 28, followed by the regular commercial and recreational lobster season, which starts Aug. 6 and runs through March 31. Planning on catching some of these tasty crustaceans? Here is what you need to know before you go. No one wants a small lobster for dinner. Make sure you check the size. Measuring devices are required, and lobsters harvested while diving must be measured while they are in the water. If the carapace length is not larger than 3 inches, it must be left in the water and image on how to protect the next generation and your future chances to have lobster for dinner, harvest of egg-bearing females is prohibited. Lobsters have hundreds of thousands of eggs that are easily visible and attached under the tail. While most lobsters have completed reproduction by the start of the fishing season, finding lobsters with eggs is common in July and August. Stick to the bag and possession limits so there will be enough lobsters for all your friends and family. During the two-day spiny lobster sport season, recreational divers and snorkelers can take up to six lobsters per person daily in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park waters or 12 lobsters per person daily in other Florida waters. You may possess no more than the daily bag limit of lobsters when you are on the water. When you are off the water, you may possess no more than the daily bag limit on the first day of the sport season and no more than double the daily bag limit on the second day. During the Aug. 6-to-March 31 regular season, the daily recreational bag and on-the-water possession limit is six spiny lobsters per person for all Florida waters. While the waters may be less crowded at night, diving for spiny lobsters after the sun goes down is not allowed in Monroe County during the two-day sport season. Know where you can go. Lobster harvest is always prohibited in Everglades National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Spiny Lobster Sanctuary, certain areas of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, and no-take areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. During the two-day season, all harvest of lobster is prohibited throughout John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Visit FloridaKeys.NOAA.gov/regs/mc_lobster.pdf to learn more about areas in Monroe County that are open to spiny lobster harvest. Bring a cooler big enough to hold the entire lobster. Spiny lobsters must remain in whole condition until they are brought to shore. Also, do not take spiny lobster with any device that might puncture, penetrate or crush its shell. Have the proper paperwork. A recreational saltwater fishing license and a spiny lobster permit are required to recreationally harvest spiny lobsters unless you are exempt from recreational license requirements. Information about these licenses and permits is available online at MyFWC.com/License or you may purchase your license today at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com. Do double duty while you are in the water and remove invasive lionfish. These nonnative species are often found in the same areas as spiny lobster, and they negatively impact Florida’s native wildlife and habitat. Help keep the lionfish population under control by removing them from Florida waters. If you plan to take lionfish with a spear, be aware of no-spearing zones and always check with your local law enforcement agency before planning your spearfishing trips. Visit MyFWC.com/Lionfish to learn more or to participate in the Lionfish Challenge reward program. Until next week, tight lines and screamin’ drags…. Captain Steve Dall