The autumn season along the Emerald Coast is getting into full swing. Water temperatures are dropping and will continue to fall with this week’s cold front. Bait is abundant right now, but that’s subject to change. In anticipation of leaner days ahead, inshore game fish are feeding more aggressively.
My longtime fishing buddy John Dunphy joined me Sunday for a foray in Santa Rosa Sound. Winds were light from the east and the water clarity was decent to excellent. Water temperatures were right around 74 degrees.
We found redfish all morning, although most were typically uncooperative. The majority of the fish were singles and pairs, although we did see a few pods of six to eight fish. Many were holding around dark grass patches, which coincidentally held most of the bait (greenbacks, mullet, pinfish and needlefish). Bendback flies in grizzly and dark brown bucktail jigs didn’t draw any follows. When I switched to an Aqua Dream 1/4-ounce gold weedless spoon, however, the reds started showing greater interest. One picked up on the spoon after it settled and aggressively tracked it before I set the hook. A lower slot prize, it fought well for its size. Dunphy was also able to tally his own red on a Johnson gold spoon of the same weight. All fish were sight-cast in the shallows. We also encountered a few nice trout in the same zones, but didn’t get any eats.
Expect choppy conditions the next few days with the ensuing cold front. The action should pick up again towards the end of the week as temperatures and winds stabilize and the calendar gets closer to next week’s new moon. Spanish mackerel, bluefish and pompano are all still around, but not for long. The flounder bite should turn on as well with the cooling water.
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