October is an exciting month to go fishing in Martin County waters! As weather transitions from summer to fall, temperatures start to drop and fishing starting to heat up. We start to see the arrival of sailfish, dolphin, grouper, and blackfin tuna from the north and wahoo continue to funnel up from the south. When fishing this area, the best method for targeting the early arrival of sailfish, dolphin and blackfin is to troll. Trolling presents the best opportunity because fish are not largely concentrated and are on the move with the ever changing weather.
On the DayMaker, we troll with four circle hook rigged ballyhoo staggered around our two teasers (dredge and squid chain). In addition to the mono baits, we pull a couple wire baits in the long rigger and always have the planer rod on stand-by for additional wahoo action. The best action for the sails will usually take place inshore of the strong north current that the Gulf Stream yields. The dolphin and wahoo will gather on the edge that is generated by that current butting up against the slower cooler water inshore.
After a few fronts and some ground swell, we start to see the grouper population increase again in area waters. With each passing front, the fish stocks for sails, dolphin, blackfin and grouper will continue to increase with peaks in December and January.