By: Eric Henson
As fall starts to become more prevalent, the fronts begin to get stronger and stronger. The bite will continue to be strong, but you will need to pick your days wisely. The tarpon bite will continue to dwindle down, but the snook, redfish, and trout bite will be great! This can be one of the best months for catching some of the largest âinshore slamsâ for our area. The SW Florida inshore slam consists of catching a snook, redfish, and trout all in the same fishing trip. Although these fish can be caught in many different areas, this time of year they will congregate in generally the same areas. This making November one of my favorite months for catching inshore slams. Generally, this time of year we will have strong NE winds. When you combine that with our negative low tides it means we will have lots of low water to fish. When this happens, it pulls most of the fish out of the mangroves and out onto the flats, making easier to find the fish. I like to look for them cruising the shallows on the leeward side of the wind or staging up in tidal pools. Once youâve located the fish and before eagerly pitching a lure at them, watch them and see what they are doing so you can make the right plan of action⌠where to position yourself, what type lure/ fly to use, etc⌠I promise it will help you catch more fish and make you a better fisherman/or woman in the end. As the water temps begin to drop, the amount of baitfish will become fewer, as well. This is the time of year when I will still use some bait fish pattern lures/ flies but, I will start to use more crustaceans style imitations as we come into winter. Also, the water clarity should be starting to clear up more and more everyday, so be sure and take a look around you to decide what you want to throw that day. Until next time be safe, respect others, and please do your part in keeping our fishery great!
Contact Eric Henson at 941-504-1349