Fishing in the middle of summer in Naples can prove to be somewhat challenging! The last couple months have been no exception. The weather goes from steaming hot to pouring rain and lightning at the flip of a switch, and many recent outings have involved dodging storms. Also, the live pilchards that we use for bait spawn out this time of year, leaving only very small baits near the beaches and passes to use. While easy to catch in the net, you really have to pick through them to find baits that are big enough to cast, and stay on the hook. Once bait has been acquired, you don't typically have to go far to find feeding fish. The hoards of bait fish near the beaches and passes attract all kinds of attention, especially early in the morning and late in the evening. The fish concentrating to hard on the bait schools can be both good and bad, depending on the tide. As the tide flushes in, the schools of bait push further and further into the backwaters, spreading the bigger fish out onto many banks and points. As the tide goes out, freshwater runoff flows out towards the passes, and the baitfish flow back out with it, leaving the bigger fish seemingly less excitable. All that being said, we are still catching fish on every trip, mostly snook, mangrove snapper, small barracuda, and some redfish and small tarpon in the mix. Incoming tide definitely has the stronger bite.