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 made some new friends yesterday on a half day charter out of Yankeetown Marina. Dave drove down from North Carolina to see what our Nature Coast had to offer. He was supposed to come down here with his fishing buddy who backed out at the last minute, so he came solo. Somehow, even though his wife does not fish, he was able to talk her into flying down on a one-way ticket to join him. Now Dave loves to fish, but Martha told me flat out she would rather be shopping than fishing ?! Things started out a little slow for us, so I don't think at first anything happened that would change her mind about that. However, we made a move, and next thing you know, Dave caught a few Seatrout. Then Martha caught fire and started hooking up with a bunch of trout, including the biggest of the day at 18 in and 19 in respectively. Dave also hooked up to a decent size Spanish mackerel before We decided to move off the trout bite to see what else we could put into the box. Martha finished off the day catching a beautiful Sheepshead, and Dave finished it off with a nice eating size Black Drum. It looks like Dave might have a new fishing partner! Overall it was another great day in God's Country with an incredible husband and wife team that I now call my friends!!! A special thank you to Andrew and the crew at Captains Cove for the bait and tackle that makes these awesome days possible!