Inshore fishing is heating up

Summer is officially over. So, Elliott (my son), Brody (the amazing fish-finding and stock-trading dog) and I are saying goodbye to white pants and the 2023 Billfish Season.  

 

Who makes these rules anyway? Who cares? I don’t wear white pants and fish don’t have calendars. However, the shift in our fishing focus is welcome.  

 

Offshore fishing takes a lot of planning and preparation. For us, a typical offshore trip requires 2-3 days of effort. Inshore fishing is much easier.  

 

When Elliott, Brody and I want to fish inshore, we simply walk down the dock and jump in the skiff. Sometimes, we don’t even launch the skiff. 

 

That was the case on Friday. My nieces, Jess and Amee, along with their children Josie, Jake, Matthew, and Emily, dropped by the house for a visit. I asked the kids what they wanted to do.  Catch fish was the consensus answer.  

 

Recently, hordes of pinfish have been hanging around the dock. They are ravenous little fish that have an affinity for shrimp. Thus, catching a bunch of them should be no problem. They also make good bait for my crab traps. This was a win-win scenario unless you were a pinfish.

 

After walking with the kids down to the dock, I threw my cast net and caught some shrimp to use for bait. Our rigging was simple. I removed the Z-Man Finesse TRD lure from a 1/6-ounce NedLockZ jig and replaced it with a piece of shrimp.  

 

The kids began catching pinfish at a furious pace. I envisioned steamed crabs for dinner!

 

About then, Jake exclaimed, “Big one!”

 

I looked over and he was struggling to reel in a powerful fish. Jake did a great job. With a little help from his older sister Josie, they quickly landed a good-size redfish. It was Jake’s first redfish. So, we took a few pictures and quickly released the fish.  

 

Summer may be over but inshore fishing is heating up. If you see two guys fishing in white pants and a dog looking embarrassed, it is probably Elliott, Brody, and me. 

 

Go fishing. Wear white pants. I hear they are going to be the rage this season.

 

Contact Captain Greg Peralta at captgregp@gmail.com or call (843) 224-0099.