by Bill Buckley, Contributing Writer
The Fall months in south Florida bring increased rainfall and localized thunderstorms, but typically the seas are not too rough. When weather permits, there is also good fishing and a slight shift in the species you can target.
With the increasing numbers of sardines and other baitfish, snook will be stalking the inlets and piers. Catch some of those local live baits with a sabiki rig and cast them back out to current edges or eddies near the end of the jetty or other prominent structure. You may need to use a few ounces of weight to get your bait down to the slower current near the bottom where snook wait to ambush prey. Spanish and cero mackerels are also showing up within range of jetty and pier anglers. Casting far and quickly retrieving shiny lures, like a Krocodile spoon or a Got-cha jig, is a great way to entice mackerels to bite. Those same lures will also produce bluefish in the same areas.
Reef anglers can expect good results fishing for yellowtail and mangrove snappers. Anchor over reef bottom with at least a few knots of current. Chum heavily and free-line silversides, cut squid, or frozen shrimp on small weighted hooks at the end of 10ft of 20lb fluorocarbon leader. The fish may be far back at first, so be prepared to let out at lot of line. Unfortunately, filefish and triggerfish have become a real nuisance to reef anglers during the daytime. Your best chance to avoid those bait-stealers is to fish after sunset, or when current is fast.
Kingfish and bonitos are abundant in September. In the daytime, your best bet is to drift live baits from 150ft into 80ft. During the nighttime, drifting frozen sardines is productive in those same depths. Use a double-hook set with 8 inches of 50lb wire and 5ft of 60lb mono or fluorocarbon leader. Depending on drift speed, use a 2-4oz egg sinker above the leader to get the bait down to the cooler mid-water depths where kingfish feed. In the daytime, trolling small feather lures in the 80-300ft depth range can produce bonitos and an occasional blackfin tuna.
Mahi mahi have been late to show up this year, but they are here now. When the seas permit, run out to the edge of the Gulfstream, typically 10-12 miles offshore, and search for floating debris and weedlines. Troll skirted and naked ballyhoo to locate dolphin, and be prepared to free-line chunks of sardines or squid to mahi that often follow a hooked fish to the boat. If you encounter a school that just won’t bite, repeatedly cast a bucktail jig, ripping it across the surface as fast as possible. This will usually trigger an instinctive strike, and may fire up the rest of the school to start feeding.
Bill Buckley “Uncle Buck”
Graphic artist & offshore angler, Boca Raton, FL