July is not considered prime time for anglers in general, but it’s one of the best times for fly fishermen. The last three weeks have been virtually unfishable during the daytime with hard west winds, frequent squalls and cloudy skies. Finding any time to fish between thunderstorms and squalls has been challenging. While it’s been difficult for local guides to fish, captains like Harrison King have been having some excellent success by fishing late afternoons and evenings under dock lights. Most evenings when the heat subsides the thunderstorm activity lessens as well, providing a chance at some productive and comfortable fishing opportunities.

This past week, an approaching full moon also provided some late afternoon low tides that could have been perfect for tailing redfish. I was quick to accept an offer from Steve Traves, of Anna Maria Island Outfitters, to fish one evening with King. We invited my good friend Captain Rick Grassett along, and we took two boats.

We started out in Palma Sola Bay where we were to meet King and Traves. Since Grassett and I started early, we fished the edges of some promising troughs where we encountered a lot of activity. It looked extremely promising, but we were unable to hook up. Traves and King started from the east and worked our way with the same results. The tide was slack and would turn soon, which might have been a factor, but we decided to head to the edges of Tampa Bay to try another spot while we still had some light.

King’s knowledge of the contour of the bay was invaluable as he snaked his way through shallow flats to a long deep trough that ended in a broad shallow flat. The conditions looked promising, and there was a lot of action in shallow water, but we only managed to initially spot a couple of tails. Although Traves did get a good strike, we suspected that much of the action was mullet. We stuck with it until the light waned without any luck before heading to Longboat Pass, where King had a lot of confidence in fishing dock lights.

Grassett and I made a quick stop at a lighted barge anchored near Bradenton Beach that was loaded with large ladyfish. Since King had seen a few large tarpon there a few days earlier, we decided to stop and try a couple of drifts. The only action was ladyfish, and when we received a text from King that he was at a light in Longboat Pass, we followed suit.

It hadn’t taken long for King to find a light that was loaded with snook and some big redfish. They had waited for us to arrive to start fishing so we tied off, and Traves took to the bow with his eight weight fly rod and a white baitfish fly. After a couple of casts, Traves was able to hook up with a nice snook that took him in to his backing twice in an attempt to reach the barnacled dock. Lowering the rod and applying pressure caused the snook to jump twice and lose his momentum in reaching the dock.

The redfish proved challenging. They would disappear into the shadow behind the dock and occasionally make an appearance under the lights. They seemed aggressive and would rush the fly, but we couldn’t get them to commit even through several changes of flies. We decided to leave early since everyone had a busy day coming up, but not before Traves hooked up again on an even bigger snook. This fish fought hard for the dock and pilings, but Traves applied just enough pressure to turn it before it reached freedom. After several head shaking jumps the leader parted as the snook’s rough mouth frayed the leader.

The redfish were very wary and showed less and less, so we decided to head in while the night was still young, a successful and comfortable trip that took a total of three hours.

Anglers who decide to fish evenings are advised to take a look at the sky and the radar before heading out as there have been some intense storms in the evenings as well. Pick the right evening though and you can expect some comfortable and potentially productive fishing. Harrison King can be reached for charters at http://www.reeljob-fishingcharters.com/ or call 941-525-8495. Contact Anna Maria Island Outfitters at 941-254-4996 or stop by at 505 Pine Avenue in Anna Maria.