October has finally graced the Space Coast with ever shorter days and a change in the clocks. As the temperatures cool and north winds start to blow our massive breeder redfish schools will start to break up. These fish will once again become loners of our lagoons. Small groups should still be found but with much less frequency than the previous weeks. A sharp eye in the deeper flats could test your tackle and knots! These large reds love to attack a topwater plugs at any point in the day and make for quite a show while trying to consume your large rattling hook covered plug. The cooler temps and mullet migrating through the lagoons will signal to the seatrout a heavy prewinter feed. These fish will also be looking to find that magic combination of protected deeper water adjacent to shallow grass flats. These certain amenities will allow the seatrout to not only survive the winter, but thrive in even the harshest conditions. Large topwater plugs on mullet filled flats will get a nod in the low light hours.
Switch to a Slayer Inc. SSB rigged weedless as the sun climbs. A good Seatrout hole will produce through the spring and typically will work for you year after year. The entire Space Coasts fishing community’s collective attention will be focused on our beaches! Reports of the mullet run going strong will be a queue to grab your yak and hit the sand. The areas north and south off Cocoa Beach will fill with tons of south bound mullet. And the predators will be hot on their tails! Lipped plugs and live mullet on fishfinder rigs tossed to the sand will put a bend in your rod. High tides are the best for us kayakers and when they coincide with evenings or mornings get ready for action. As the tide fills in the surf zone condenses and kayakers can safely manage the troughs/break that predators will use to ambush the passing schools. Snook, redfish, bluefish, flounder, jacks and tarpon will be your surf zone targets. Leaders are best in the 40lb. range and your hook should match the size of your baits.
An egg sinker is used in the fishfinder rig and should be light enough to “roll” around in the troughs. Schools of larger mullet typically run a bit deeper and father from the surf zone. Making the southward push so dangerous for the 8-12 inch mullet will be massive tarpon, kingfish, cobia, sharks and giant jacks. Live bait kingfish rigs work great for slow trolling these larger sized baits! I enjoy using a light conventional setup for this application, but heavy spinning gear works well also.
For those yakers looking to hang with a bunch of great folks and do some fishing, several upcoming events should perk your interest. First is the upcoming Boondoggle in mid October, next will be the KARS Park Fall Redfish Classic; look them up on the computer or listen to Kayak Fishing Radio on Monday evenings for more details. Also in LocalLinesCharters.com news: I’m supper happy to announce a combination that should prove to be a great opportunity. Local Lines will be partnering with Kayaks by Bo (KBB) in Titusville. Infusing an amazing Kayak shop and my passion for kayaking our area will be beneficial for all the anglers in our area. Collaborating with Tom Altif (owner) and Redfish Chuck we will be looking to bring seminar series and many other exciting events. Not to mention the soon to be opened KBB outfitters; bringing not only a place to grab some gear but also come and hang after a day of fishing. Details coming soon!