By Michael Murphy
It’s hot! The bite has been on fire and the weather has been also. Bait is plentiful right now on the flats, and the fish know it. The water temps are up in the mid-80s, which makes the metabolism of the fish run in overdrive, so they are eating everything they can.
Trout are working great on the flats with artificial baits but are hanging in the deeper water pockets and edges. Snook are in the deep water passes and under the mangroves when the sun gets high. The offshore bite has been steady, if you can find it where the winds allow you to run off.
We wanted to take the opportunity to thank some local captains that fished for a benefit in early June. The benefit was Casting for Kids. The program supports the Heart Gallery of Hillsborough County and pairs up foster kids, and parents, with captains to fish the flats area in Apollo Beach. We take them out for a few hours of fishing fun and then head to the sand bar to cool off and find lots of inshore sea life.
Captains like Jimmy Beagle, Matt Morrison, Wild Bill, Steve Herndon, Chris Prevatt, Phil Pegley and I have been doing this for over five years now. We get many of these foster family groups several times a year, and it’s quite rewarding seeing the smiles on these children’s faces the first time they get a fish on the line. We had some young first mates assist us this year and they did a magnificent job helping the other children with casting, baiting and understanding the waters in which we fish. Dakota Beagle, Colton Herndon, Skyler Haverfield and Luke Haverfield were all a great help in being able to help these children and made it really an epic adventure.
The benefit program Casting for Kids was developed by MIELKE Foundation and receives sponsor donations through a sponsored fishing event every year. This year, it will be held on Saturday, September 24 at the Vinoy in St. Petersburg. If you’re interested in participating in the ‘big’ event fishing tournament, you can contact me or the Heart Gallery of Hillsborough County. It’s a great event and will be lots of fun.
Dinner the night before and during the after-tournament awards banquet is something to behold. This is something that us captains hold close to the heart, and the charity benefit does amazing things for these kids and families.
