Wahoo! Cooler temperatures and sunny skies are ushering in the fall season. Boating traffic is down for several reasons and the fish are turning on. The next couple of months can be some of the best times to be fishing along Florida’s Forgotten Coast.
The inshore water is still not back to ideal yet. It is slowly clearing from the run-off effects from Sally’s storms, though. Floating grass is dwindling, too, which makes working a topwater plug with treble hooks that much easier. Temperatures have eased down into the upper 70s, but might bump up a tad this weekend with the expected highs back into the mid-80s. That’s OK. The fish know the daylight hours are getting shorter and it’s time to start packing on the pounds in advance of leaner months ahead.
Finding clean water is still the best way to find trout. Use a Skitter Walk, Top Dog, Super Spook or Chug Bug to locate prime water. Depths four feet or less seem to be holding the most fish. Action and commotion are more attractive than colors but silver/black, pearl or gold patterns are always a good place to start. In addition to trout, reds will hump up and inhale a surface plug, along with Spanish mackerel, bluefish, ladyfish and jacks. Even the lowly sailcat will give a good tussle on top.
Redfish continue to prowl the shallows. The fish are more timid on low water, so stealthy approaches are key. The venerable weedless gold spoon is an ideal search bait, but once you decipher the pattern, soft-plastic jerk baits, bucktail jigs and flies will all fool the copper drum. The bigger fish are showing up with more frequency, especially around the oyster bars and channels. Live pinfish, finger mullet and mud minnows pinned to the bottom are seldom refused by hungry reds.
Flounder is another species that shines in the autumn months. Bounce a DOA 1/4-ounce shrimp or Sureketch tout slowly along pinch points to see if any flatties are home. Chances are good that if you find one, you’ll find neighbors by fan-casting the area. Docks, creek mouths and canals are more good places to search for flounder.
It never hurts to tote along a medium-heavy spin outfit this time of year. It’s better to be well-armed should a cobia, tarpon or spinner shark wander into casting range. They won’t stick around too much longer, but these heavyweights are still common along our stretch of coast.
Lighter winds are forecast for the weekend, along with higher temperatures and greater chances of showers. The ‘tweener moon phase won’t produce monster tides, but there will be enough movement, combined with the calendar, to offer good opportunities. The best windows will be an hour or so on either side of the morning high tides.
The 2020 CCA STAR Tournament wraps up October 4. Be sure to get out there and score some entries before the deadline. No tagged redfish have been caught by registered anglers, so five sweet boat, outboard, trailer packages are still up for grabs. www.ccaflstar.com for more details.
Copyright 2020, Capt. Dave Lear. All rights reserved.