Homosassa- September Fishing Report
”Grouper Diggers”, this is the month we’ve been waiting for. September starts off our fall grouper season and the shorter days, and slightly cooling water temperature, put the gag grouper in an aggressive feeding mood. Ledges, rock piles, artificial reefs and wrecks from 10 to 70 feet, will be holding better numbers of grouper. Many of the offshore locations have been a little slow this year from the summer hot water temperatures. However, there should be some hefty gags ready for a one-on-one battle, taking up residence on your favorite grouper structures in the coming weeks.
Depending on the floating grass, this time of year is ideal for tolling large lipped plugs such as Yo-Zuri mag minnows or Rapala X-raps over your favorite grouper bottom. Experiment with natural and brightly colored combinations, to see what flavor the grouper area wants. For the bottom fisherman, always start the bite with frozen sardines or threadfin herring, and then send down that frisky live pinfish and “hold on”.
On the inshore scene, the speckled trout will start moving back inshore from their deep summer haunts. Look for shallow “yellow” hard bottom areas in 3 to 4 feet of water, with kelp grass growing on it. The grass has been growing all summer, and is a haven for both bait fish and trout. DOA deadly combos, with the glow, or holographic root beer shrimp combinations are very effective. The floating grass that has made top water lure fishing almost impossible all summer, is now going away; so, bring out the top water plugs again. Rapala Skitter walks, MirrOLure top dogs and Yo-Zuri hydro-pencils, are all great top water choices.
The big red fish are always a favorite for the early fall time of year. Cut baits, such as mullet and lady fish are hard to beat, as well as free-lined live shrimp, to get the job done. Islands with good current flow, and limestone bottom, are always good starting points. There’s lots of snook holding in the same locations too, so I recommend upping your leader to at least 30lb to save a snook from sawing through your line.