[dropcap]F[/dropcap]all is right around the corner! September starts to bring with it some cooler temperatures which will begin the fall flats explosion. Redfish, trout and flounder will begin to be caught in huge numbers as they try to fatten up for the winter. Look to throw big baits this time of the year to mimic most of the bait that is congregating and schooling around in our area. I will recommend three go-to artificial baits for the fall. The first is the Heddon One Knocker. This top water plug will mimic most of the oversized finger mullet. Work this plug with the ‘walk the dog’ motion to trigger optimum bites. The second bait I recommend is a 6-inch jerk bait in glow or chartreuse made by DOA. This bait can be rigged weedless or on a jig head. I’ll be focusing on potholes and good mixed bottom to optimize the effectiveness of this soft plastic bait. The last artificial bait that flat out catches redfish in the Big Bend is the Aqua Dream Living Spoon. I will utilize the spoon to find schooling fish in stained water. Once one or two fish are caught off the school, back away and focus on casting the edges to maximize the bite. The fall is a great time to catch trophy sized trout and upper slot redfish in numbers.
The trout bite has been a little slow in the month of August due to an abundance of afternoon rain. The water has been stained in areas of Turkey Point and east to Ochlocknee Bay from the flooding of our marshes and shallow tributaries. September will mark the start of a clearing trend as waters cool off and rain historically slows.
Lanark, St. Theresa and around to Alligator Harbor produced a number of decent reports of redfish being caught on both ends of the tide. Brad Kirn of FCKA.net has reported large quantities of redfish being caught in the Alligator Harbor area out of kayaks. Brad is catching most of these redfish in the grass or along the numerous oyster bars. Top water plugs, small suspending baits and Slayer SST’s swimming shads are the ticket for these hungry fish.
Offshore I am getting reports of anglers taking advantage of an above average year for Gag Grouper. I recently had a chance to fish with friends out of Carrabelle and we caught a few plus sized Gags in 70 feet of water. The bonus was the school of Mahi we chased down! We even enticed a few to eat some live pilchards. Kingfish and Cobia are still around the Big Bend waters and are being caught pitching a live bait or jig into bait balls hanging in the middle of the water column.
Fall is here and with it comes your chance to catch a fish of a lifetime. The Big Bend has one of the best fisheries in the entire state, so get out, support your local tackle shop and bend a rod!
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