A friend from work is going to be on a long weekend vacation and asked for some fishing suggestions. There are 4 adults and 3 children. Most important thing is that the kids have fun. They are mostly planning on fishing from shore but I wondered if there were any good short charters around that time. What's the story on red snapper season? Will the blackfin be following the shrimp boats? Any suggestions on fishing from the shore (I posted on the inshore forum too)?

G'mornin Tiffany ...... The shrimp boats head back out mid July and although I've had some great blackfin trips in late July it is spotty at best. There are lots of options for shore fishing in July though. let me collect some ideas and get back with you.

Not knowing how old the kids are if they would like to do an offshore trip for snapper the season will be on and I would suggest a 5 hr trip. Be sure to go on the Pelican with James wheeler (inside joke). The surf is also a good bet in July as are the piers and jetties. Live shrimp under the lights at night is killer for trout and reds.

Another adventure would be to take the N. Jetty boat over and do some beach combing . Fishing too.

I'm sure they will enjoy it as long as it is not over July 4th.

A 5 hour trip in July, can be very fun exciting no matter the age of kids. The majority of them are very successful but as Bobby said there's always an inside joke if you wind up fishing with me, especially if Bobby's on board! Kirk that's any trip the Bobby goes on with me, no matter what I'll be something extremely memorable about the trip I can't tell you in advance whether will be memorable cuz it's good or bad but it'll be memorable!

The last year I think it was July 24th I did get 30 some-odd Blackfin tuna on a 12-hour trip chasing shrimp boats, but it is spotty at best at time of year. Even after their first big push in August there's typically a lull before they really start, becoming reliably consistent. Sometimes this has to do with the boats, sometimes it has to do with the Bonita, and sometimes it just has to do with the fish. Typically September through October AR going to be the best opportunities to have better odds of success

If it's at all possible, when you decide to take your kids, try to do it on a slower week day, like Tuesday or Thursday, as opposed to a weekend. Typically, the boats are a lot less loaded, the crew can pay more attention to give them a better time, and in general, it's not just a free-for-all fish Bash, that the kids might not understand

Almost everyone of the party boats as a 5-hour trip that targets red snapper during that time of year and almost every one of them does a great job you shouldn't have any issue fighting about to take them on

Capt. James Wheeler

Thanks for the info Bobby, Capt James. It's been passed on.