By Captain Will Geraghty,The Grand Slam, grandslmcharter@aol.com

What a late summer it’s been for plying the Gulf of Mexico waters! Throughout August and the last several weeks, light winds, calm seas and a solid bite has reigned supreme. The bite has been so good that it’s had many anglers seeing red, red grouper that is!

From the near shore ledges and hard bottom areas out beyond to the offshore artificial reefs red grouper limits have been consistent and impressive. Mixed in with the great grouper catches has been an eclectic mixed bag of snapper, stout Spanish and king mackerel rounded out with heaps of coastal sharks.

Cpt. Geraghty and HH Member with a King Mackerel

On a recent outing with members of Hamilton Harbor, the game plan was to make the long run to fertile offshore grounds. Greeted with slick calm seas and exceptional tides we knew we were in for an outstanding day on the Gulf!  

Breaching Gordon Pass shortly after sunrise, we pegged the throttles of their beautiful triple 350 Yamaha powered 37′ Pursuit. A short stop at the Santa Lucia, a shallow artificial wreck located due west of the pass, had us gathering a variety of small baitfish employing  #8-10 Sabiki rigs. Live bait, often a crapshoot during the summer months, proved easy as we filled the wells in no time flat with a healthy combination of threadfin herring, pinfish and spot tail grunts. Necessary live baits to have on board for those wishing to tangle with big grouper!

Arriving on the scene in eighty-two feet of Gulf cobalt water we took the opportunity to diligently look around checking out the rocky substrate on the Raymarine fish finder in search of an aggregate of fish. Once dialed into where we wanted to concentrate our angling efforts, we set anchor and began deploying a variety of metal jigs coupled with live and dead baits.

Cpt. Geraghty and HH Member with a Grouper

The bite was on fire from the first drop as we enjoyed solid red grouper action for nearly an hour before being “covered up” in pesky Atlantic Sharpnose sharks. No worries, as we had nearly a limit of reds up to 9 pounds already in the fish box on ice!

For the remainder of the morning and into the early afternoon we shopped around on several diverse natural live bottom areas with each producing quality catches of yellowtail snapper, mangrove snapper and smoker king mackerel up to 35-pounds!

Look for this offshore bite pattern to continue to hold strong well into September. While the action is indeed hot out in the Gulf it will be prudent to keep an eye to the sky as the afternoon weather is heating up as well. Always check the forecast, pick your days wisely and catch em up!

Till Next Tide, Hook Up, Hold On and Have Fun!