Cooler temps, fronts heat up action for island fishers
The first cold front of the year settled in Oct. 5 — a prime indicator that fall has arrived.
And with autumn’s milder weather, look for backwater species — snook, redfish and trout — to really go on the feed. Fishing the flats should be wide open this month for fishers using live baits and artificials.
Migratory species, such as mackerel and shark, are moving into our waters as the temperatures cool. Look for diving birds in the surf and within a mile of shore to find bait schools with skyrocketing Spanish mackerel and kingfish. With this, you can expect to see an abundance of jack crevalle, blue runners and bonito. And with all of that action occurring, you can bet on some great action on spinner and blacktip sharks.
Finally, the ever-famous pompano should be making their way down the coast this month. Check your arsenal and make sure you have a good assortment of jigs ready. You may want to scope out the beaches for a good spot to find sand fleas, too. The recent beach renourishment can make finding good-sized fleas challenging.
Capt. Rick Gross of Fishy Business Charters is finding schooling reds on shallow grass flats during incoming tides. Most of the time, Gross is anchoring and casting live shiners into the school, resulting in multiple hookups for his clients. When schools are on the move, Gross is tying on gold spoons and focusing his clients on casts to lead the fish into a bite. Both methods are resulting in slot and over-slot reds.
Along mangrove edges, Gross is catching decent numbers of snook. To fish the mangroves, Gross likes to free-line shiners right along the edges of the roots and bushes. If skilled casters are on the boat, Gross likes it even better if they skip the bait up under the limbs. Most catches occurring in the bushes are schoolie fish of 20-26 inches.
Finally, spotted seatrout are congregating on deeper grass flats in Tampa Bay, and Gross is putting clients on slot-size fish with live shiners placed in sandy potholes. Either free-lining baits or using a popping cork will produce a bite.
Jonny Keyes at Island Discount Tackle reports schooling redfish are the talk of the shop. While fishing with Capt. Mac Gregory, Keyes is catching slot and over-slot reds on a variety of techniques. Live shiners free-lined to the school of fish are producing good numbers, but Keyes’ favorite method to target reds is by fly rod. To get the schooling fish in a frenzy, Gregory chums with live shiners. Once the fish are excited, Keyes casts into the mix for a hookup.
He’s also getting a workout on snook. Under-slot and slot-sized fish are readily eating live shiners free-lined over the grass flats.
Finally, Keyes is finding abundant spotted seatrout around deep grass with sandy potholes or troughs. Live shiners are a great way to catch these fish.
Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier says due to the large schools of baitfish surrounding the pier, migratory species such as jack crevalle, ablue runners and ladyfish are more plentiful. Pier fishers using small white, pink or chartreuse jigs are capitalizing on this bite. These fish readily strike lures on a quick retrieve. Gotcha plugs and silver spoons also work.
Bait fishers at the pier using live shiners and live shrimp are catching mangrove snapper, flounder and black drum. For these species, fishers are using bottom rigs to keep their bait under the pier deck where the fish are lurking. Limits of snapper are being reported as well as flounder up to 20 inches in length.
Finally, snook are still an option for anglers, especially at night. Using lipped plugs, such as Yo-Zuri crystal minnow, is a good bet. Just reel then along the shadow line parallel to the pier. Live baits shiners, pinfish and ladyfish — are working, too.
Capt. Warren Girle is fishing nearshore structure and finding a good bite. He says flounder are plentiful in the sandy areas surrounding rock piles and artificial reefs. Mangrove snapper are being found in the same areas as well as directly over the structure. Both the snapper and the flounder are being caught by using bottom rigs combined with live shiners for bait.
Free-lining live shiners around structure is producing Spanish mackerel, small sharks and cobia. For this trio, Girle is using 30-pound fluorocarbon leader attached to a 2/0 longshank hook. When cobia are spotted, Girle’s clients are sight-casting baits to the fish.
On the flats of Sarasota Bay and in the Intracoastal Waterway, Girle is finding redfish and spotted seatrout. For the reds, Girle is fishing sandy potholes with depths of 2-3 feet. For the trout, deeper areas of grass in 5-7 feet of water are producing a bite.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.