Snook in Cedar Key

Had some happy campers on Aug. 27. Redfish were scarce inshore and we caught only one, early in the morning. Eased out a mile off the coast and scratched up some nice trout using artificials, and Karl caught his biggest ever redfish on a white worm. Not sure what that redfish was doing way off the coast, but it was a pretty one. His wife used a cork and bait, and wore out the small sharks, landing 13. And two keeper trout. Several bluefish released. We were fortunate that the only big rain shower stayed further offshore. Gulf was calm, floating seagrass moderate.

No charters the past few days, so I coaxed my neighbors out redfishing. Perfect weather, too. The guys lost the first two big redfish, a pulled hook and a broken leader, but we settled down and landed the next six. Two reds were too big to keep, 27.5 and 30 inch reds, and were released. Most reds were upper-slot fish. Also caught a 20-inch trout and a couple of sheepshead. Not bad for a four-hour trip.

We managed to find six keeper-sized redfish and three eating-size black drum, after a chilly morning ride. Also a couple of flounder. Trout have been very scarce. It warmed up at mid-day and the weather was nice. This was before the big cold front hit on Sunday night.