By: Capt. Bart Marx
September in Southwest Florida has been hot and this month there should be some changes. The migration of the fish from north to south should start soon. Near the end of the month there is a good chance you may find along the coast and just inshore some big schools of the red drum/red fish. They come inshore to feed up to make the long swim offshore to spawn. This usually happens late October early November. And in Southwest Florida we call October, Red October. In September, you can find them along the beaches and just inside the passes and in past years September was a month that you could catch an inshore slam with all keeper size fish. If you worked real hard you could make it a grand slam by adding a tarpon. If you find one of the schools of reds, they will eat most anything; live, green backs, pin fish etc. They will also eat fresh pieces of lady fish, and blue crabs quartered and soaked on the bottom close to the mangroves. Trout can be found on the grass flats where there is moving water as they like to lay on the edges of the sand and grass to ambush unsuspecting prey. I like to use a popping cork and a soft plastic shrimp pattern. Snook should be back in there usual living areas from the migration to spawn. I have learned that they don’t go every year to spawn. There should be plenty of snapper starting at fifty feet going out to eighty feet. Mangrove snapper, lane snapper and some yellow tail snapper, and if you are a good bottom angler, the gag grouper is open in federal waters for 16 days, and if you are into shark fishing, they are everywhere! They have made a good rebound with the regulations today as there seems to have been more encounters with them this year. This is the time of year I go to Tennessee for vacation, where it is a little cooler, and do some TVA river fishing for trout and catfish. I have a 5 wt. for that and a 2500 spinning reel Battle. Give us a call if you are interested in going along with Capt. Bart on his boat or hiring him to come on your boat for a training session. I can help you learn where you can take your boat and how to use the gear you have in our area. Learning from a pro, helps shorten the learning curve coming to a new area. You can reach Capt. Bart Marx at 941-979-6517 or e-mail at captbart@alphaomegacharters.com And always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile! <*(((((>{