Well, summer is here, and fishing has been very good around Yankeetown and the Nature Coast. Seatrout are still hanging around, although not as schooled up as they were in prior months. We have had our best success catching them first thing in the morning when they come up on to the flats to feed. A live shrimp on a 1/8 ounce jighead has been working the best, although a Mirrorlure Little John in watermelon red glitter, or a Q8 Superbaits jerk bait in purple, or lucky penny has been catching a few also. As the sun comes up and the water temps increase, they head back to deeper, cooler water, and are more difficult to find. This time of year, your best bet to catch Redfish is either underneath Mangroves hanging over the water, or deeper rocky ledges coming off of the shoreline. We have been catching Black Drum and Mangrove Snappers on these same rocky ledges. Our main go to once again has been live shrimp on a 1/8 ounce jighead. A mud minnow on a hook with an inline bobber also works well under the Mangrove trees, mainly for the Redfish. The delicious Flounder has been showing up lately as well. Although you will find them sometimes in the rocky areas, the best place to target them has been just off of rocky structure or shoreline, closer to the boat, on lighter sandy or shell bottom. Shrimp on a jighead works best, since dragging the bait along the bottom seems to be the technique that is most successful to get them to bite. Overall, summertime is a great time to fish, so give me call and LET’S GO!!!

I had three generations on the boat for sweet Miss Lilly's birthday fishing trip. She flew all the way down here from Ohio with her dad to fish in the Gulf with her Grandpa Andy for her birthday. Miss Lilly stole the show and stole my heart out there fishing. I was "Mr Captain Mike" all day yesterday as she asked so many questions and listened well, and fished hard through the tough wind and rough seas we had yesterday. She was just so polite and sweet the whole trip. What a great kid and boy could she fish also. She out fished both her Grandpa Andy and her dad Drake, who are both experienced fishermen. She caught her first Redfish, Black Drum, Flounder, and Lady Fish! However, Her best catch, in my opinion, was the big Sheepshead she caught inshore in the shallow water. She wanted to get a lot of pictures so she could prove to her friends back home that she had fished the gulf and caught a lot of fish! As a crew, everybody did well, considering we were limited in our areas to fish due to the windy, sloppy day. They caught quite a few fish, and we picked out the best for a couple of dinners. They also caught a lot of fish that were just under legal limit, so of course, they all went back to grow. At the end of the trip, Miss Lilly gave me a big hug, and I let her know she is welcome on my boat anytime! Happy Birthday Miss Lilly!!!

I was blessed to have some super nice folks on the boat yesterday! Tom, Becky, Ed, and Joe picked off a few fish during the course of the day with an almost non-existant tidal flow. However, they kept their heads in the game, and when the tide changed and started coming in, the good Lord blessed us with enough current to really turn on the fish, and they were hungry. They put together an impressive cooler, including Redfish, Black Drum, Seatrout, Flounder, Pompano, and Mangrove Snapper. Joe also picked up a 30-in tank of a Redfish, which, of course, went back into the pond. Tom was the Silent Assassin on the boat yesterday?! He fished off the back of the boat in probably the worst position all day and caught the most fish including 25-in Redfish, some big Seatrout, Black Drum, Pompano, and a 4 ft Bonnet head shark that gave him a great fight on light tackle, but Tom won the battle and got the shark to the boat! Another awesome day in God's Country!!!