Tarpon fishing on Tampa Bay is good

August has arrived and the thunderstorms are still part of our day. We continue with the daily afternoon westerly sea breeze and 90-plus degree temperatures.

In early August I take time to make sure all the maintenance on my boat is completed and my gear is in good working order. I typically run my charters either early morning or late afternoon. This way I can avoid the heat. I still have to contend with the thunderstorms, but I can usually dodge them.

Tarpon fishing in Tampa Bay has been excellent, and I would expect to see a good bite right through the late summer. Most of the tarpon will be in the 100-pound class and smaller, and there will lots of them from Apollo Beach north to Port Tampa, near and around the Gandy Bridge and, of course, along the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

I like fishing tarpon on a strong, outgoing tide using large, live threadfin herring for bait.

There are always a number of juvenile tarpon in most of the rivers that empty into Tampa Bay. The Hillsborough, Palm, Little Manatee and Manatee rivers are all known to hold these fish. Try fishing the mouth of the rivers using artificial bait on a strong outgoing tide near sunrise or sunset. My favorite artificial lure is the DOA Bait Buster.

Spanish mackerel will also be around through mid- to late October or until the water temperature starts to drop. I fish mackerel with live greenbacks and usually chum with a frozen chum bag or cut white bait.

The snook bite will continue to be slow, as its population still is slowly rebounding from the winter freeze of 2010. The snook spawn will continue into August, so look for them near and along the deep passes near the beach.

Please remember that snook season is closed, and we must carefully release all of these fish back to the water. Be gentle and use the correct release procedures.

Trout fishing was on the slow side in July, and I would expect the bite to stay about the same. We caught plenty of trout during the month but most were undersize, less than 15 inches. I like to find grass in the 4-foot or taller range and fish the trout with a popping cork with live shrimp or greenbacks.

In the summer months, I like to wade fish. I pick days when the tides will be low near or just after sunset. I typically use artificial baits and have great success with trout, snook and redfish. If for nothing else than watching a beautiful sunset, fishing a pristine South Shore grass flat is reward enough.