Capt Gary Burch's Page

We are still having typical Central Florida summer weather. Day time around 90 degrees and water temperature in Clearwater Bay is stable at 85. The doldrums of summer have not ended. We can only hope for a little relief for us fisherman soon. Now for the fish, they have not moved too far from their hot weather locations. I am still finding trout along the edges of shallow grass flats of Clearwater Harbor where they are feeding on millions of small fry baits in the bay. Redfish are still scattere… Continue

August 2009:

The first of the month continued with very warm waters and temperatures. A couple of positive signs are evident. The days are getting shorter and there are millions of small bait fish (sardines or white bait) everywhere. As the days get shorter, the amount of intense sunshine baking the flats and shallow waters is considerably less. This gives the bays and backwaters more time to cool down during evening hours. Also the fish react to shorter days by changing their migration pattern… Continue

July:
Tom, from NJ, came aboard the Salt Aire on Thursday looking for some hot summer time action. Not only did he find some hot weather conditions, but the fishing was off the charts. We started out in the morning on the flats as the tide was high and water was a little cooler, an awesome combination to catch fish.
Tom landed a nice 26 inch Redfish and followed with another a few minutes later. We lost several other reds and saw others meandering in the flats. They still looked a little letharg… Continue

June 16th:

I’m starting my trips as early as possible here in late June because the water is very warm. The earlier the better throughout the summer months as water temperature will be in the upper 80’s in the morning and can reach into the low 90’s by afternoon.
Andy and Kyle were on board the Salt Aire this morning as we fished the top of the outgoing tide. We were fishing some flats just inside Clearwater Pass using white bait looking for snook feeding in the moving water. After sever… Continue