From: Larry Fowler

Summer is here and so are the schools of Big Redfish.

We are beginning to see schools of large Reds almost on a daily basis. Only mother nature can keep us from finding them. We still seem to have more windy days than normal for this time of year but overall it has been a good early summer so far despite La Nina.

When trying to locate these schools of large Redfish or any other Redfish schools it is important to at least have two of the three conditions in your favor neccessary to spot or track these schools. The three conditions are Calm to light winds, Clear to mostly sunny skies, and water clarity. As long as you have at least two of these three you will probably find schools of redfish. When you only have one of the three conditions present your chances are slim at best. With none of the three conditions present you might as well go ahead and set up for blind casting your favorite flat, and pay some casting dues.

That is what it will take to have a successful day of Redfishing, if you have total overcast conditions and the water looks like brown mud. Sometimes you have to stand with your legs about three feet apart and brace yourself to keep from being blown overboard with the 25 knot winds or worse that can often come up in our beloved "Typhoon Lagoon", otherwise known as Mosquito Lagoon. Winds like these often occur on Florida's East Central Coast with a summer thunderstorm or low pressure system passing by along the coastline.

One such day was recently spent with one of my regular clients Walt Kurtz. We had a perfect glassy morning and went to a spot where I usually see these schools of large Redfish. Soon after we shut down I spotted about 25 to 30 large Redfish tails and dorsal fins lazily breaking the surface about 200 yds ahead. We eased towards them very slowly and after a few minutes we were about 30 feet from 250 large Redfish all balled up in a tight school only around 10 to 15 feet wide . What a sight !! Giant Redfish right in front of us. Walt carefully raised his rod and made a perfect cast to the school. Instantly the whole area began erupting with giant boils and crashing , baitfish running for their lives etc. Walt's fishing rod doubled over. He was hooked up on 8# test line with a giant Redfish of at least 20 or more pounds. After 30 minutes of tug-of-war with the Redfish I carefully reached down with my Boga Grip and lifted up a 47 inch, 35 pound true Giant Redfish. What a way to start the day off.

Mother nature continued to smile on us this day and kept giving us light to calm winds, bright blue sunny skies and almost crystal clear water conditions. We took great advantage of that and over the 4 hours we landed 12 large Redfish , none bigger than the first one, but all from 20 to 35 pounds. Sweat pouring from our foreheads and great big smiles on our faces we headed in to the dock with a great half day of Giant Redfishing under our belts and the memories in our minds.

These conditions are typical in the summer months and should continue through late August or early September.