All Text & Photos provided by Patrick “Tupat” Eichstaedt // @TheRealTupat
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Florida Fishing in August
As we are engulfed in a global pandemic with COVID-19 and the people of the world are adapting to a new way of life, the fish in the backwaters of Bethune Beach are completely oblivious to all the chaos. The bite couldn’t be any better in the past few months. From large-sized snook to tournament-sized redfish and everything else in between, my lines have been tighter than ever!
As for the ocean fishing, Shayna Marie (@salty_shayy, pictured above) scored her very first permit fishing off the beach of Silver Sands on the southern part of New Smyrna Beach. She says, “ We were surf fishing for whiting and pompano and this guy inhaled my sand flea. The rod took off so hard, it broke my rod stake and my rod and reel went swimming before I could grab it to continue the fight. I landed him, snapped a few pics and safely released him. RIP to my reel but definitely something I will never forget! It’s a super rare catch and especially that size from the shoreline of NSB!”
My longtime surf buddy Baron Knowlton (@BaronKnowlton, pictured above) came to town for an extended weekend and we filmed a few days for my upcoming online fishing TV show. We scored big time to say the least. Baron hooked into a few smaller snook, mangrove snappers and two really nice large-sized redfish. One catch was so rare – he hooked a nice redfish and then the topwater lure came out and before it could surface a solid snook engulfed his lure and the fish was landed! We called it the bait transfer catch!
My neighbor, friend and NSB native, Bobby Minotti (pictured above) has been on a tear as well. We have been hooking big sharks off the beaches of Bethune but breaking off. As for the backwaters, Bobby scored a prized snook utilizing his Topwater Mirror Lure bait. These snook have been so overly aggressive and slamming the schools of mullet. The fight you get off of the paddleboard is one-of-a-kind as you have to maneuver the board and focus on the fight at the same time. It definitely takes some skill and time to get used to. Bobby is one of the best I’ve seen and his fishing skills are top notch!
As the summer comes to an end soon, the fish will remain hungry and the bait will be abundant. Keep your eyes on the tides, weather and spots with good water flow. All baits are good until we get into a cooler weather pattern!
BEST DAYS TO FISH IN AUGUST:
2-5, 9-11, 16-21, 25-26, 31
Until next month… Cast ‘em, Hook ‘em and Catch ‘em!
August 2020 Tide Chart:
