Since the endangered gag grouper and American red snapper are off-limits this month, it would be a good time to go deeper and/or change up your tactics to target different species. For example, go ahead and catch your three scamp/red grouper combo, then switch over to smaller baits and smaller circle hooks on chicken rigs to target beeliners, triggerfish grunts, and seabass.

Barefoot Crab Decoy Jig Rigged With a Pinfish

Take live pinfish from the marina for scamps and red grouper; this will accomplish two things. One, it will weed out a bunch of trash bites from smaller snappers and other bait steelers because only the fish with a mouth large enough to eat the pinfish will give it a go, and two, it will catch the older (larger) fish that often will not bite a chicken rig and cut bait. The chicken rig with a bank sinker, and the bank sinker with a triple swivel, leader, and hook have been the industry standard for many decades, but these fish have evolved and have become savvy to this method. That is the reason the Decoy Jig system is so effective. They’ve never seen anything like it, and it’s a clever disguise of what is happening; the weight and bait are in one clean package, attached by a piece of fluorocarbon.

There is one downfall to fishing live pinfish on the Decoy Jig—it will get the shark bite. Sharks, like many other fish, are hardwired to eat this struggling bait attached to something else they like to eat, like a squid or a crab.

Hogfish on a Barefoot Crab Decoy Jig

There’s another fish I didn’t mention earlier, but this is a good time of year to target hogfish. There are many schools of thought when it comes to catching them. Many say the chicken rig is the ultimate, and, yes, there have been a lot of hogfish caught on your standard chicken rig. But this is a pretty wily species, and hard to catch for several reasons. Not only are they hard to get to bite, but they pull HARD! You have to have seriously strong connections because they will test every part of your tackle.

There’s one more fish that is almost as good table fare, and that’s the white jolt head porgy. Same tactics, same everything; you just gotta find them. They are beyond delicious.

You can troll all you want, but I’ll spend my time bottom fishing for the best groceries and keep the light line out back for any wahoo, dolphin, kings, or tuna that may cruise by. It pays dividends to jig up live cigar minnows and live sardines on the Sabiki or just purchase them for the light line.

Tim's Buddy and a Porgy

August and September are the months that wahoo, yellowfin, dolphin, sailfish—you name it—are everywhere inshore following big schools of bait, and a live cig or sardine will definitely get the bite. I would keep a live pitch bait ready on a circle hook on a piece of fluorocarbon for the sailfish that’ll swim by the boat. Keep the thumping music, cooler slamming loud everything to a minimum if you want to have a shot at getting some of these fish to swim up to the boat.

Wahoo on a Barefoot Decoy Jig
Cute Yellowfin Tuna
Dolphin on a Barefoot Decoy Jig
Over the Rail Sailfish AS17704974

Fact: You’ll see more fish near the boat when you’re quiet; otherwise, they will keep their distance, and you probably won’t see them, and they’ll have their guard up if they do get near the boat.

 Go on, get down to the bottom or at least lower in the water column for the best groceries and keep a pretty live bait out back on the lite line for a great day of catching… not fishing.