September is a transition month on the space coast! Now we don’t have changing leaf colors to clue us in on the change of seasons, and only a slight dip in our oppressive heat should be around the corner. In Florida’s land of few seasons one must look to the fish to realize a change has happened. Seatrout will start to move closer to the deep water areas needed to survive our winters comfortably. This will make them a bit easier to find than those midsummer fish that disperse across the open flats. The flats around our traditional winter holes will stack up with these spotted feeding machines. The pre-mullet run schools of bait will be there main target, and with an eye to fatting up for the winter they will gorge. Large topwater lures early in the morning will do well for you.
Those who have frequented the lagoon shallows over the end of August and through the end of this month will have noticed a change in our local redfish population’s daily activities. It’s spawning time for the space coasts redfish! Being a truly unique group of reds; our breeders won’t leave to do their yearly deed. Unlike any other redfish, ours have found an ability to breed in the shallow lagoon waters. Even smaller slot sized redfish will instinctually group up, but spawning activities are still a few seasons away for these guys. Spending only brief moments in the extreme shallows to tall and root as they feed, then sliding off to deeper waters to mill or cruise. Deeper is relative of course, and 2-4 foot of water is enough to make them feel safe. These large schools of fish will be spotted by watching for heavy head wakes being pushed. Many of my clients believe these are from dolphin or a boat, and only relate that large wake to reds when they see the hundreds of fish. Calmer afternoons are best for spotting these fish and great care should be taken to not harass them too much. Kayaks typically don’t impact them near as much as the run and bump method; sadly used by too many power boaters. These large schools of fish can/will be found in all our lagoons. The NMZ (both sides), North Indian River, Mosquito Lagoon, and southern parts of the Banana River have historically held numerous large breeder schools. The competitive nature of the densely packed schools of reds can lead to some hot action. Large mullet imitating plugs work well for me, and this includes topwater lures. Upsize your tackle to not overly stress these valuable fish.
Arguably one of the most amazing sights to grace the space coast is the fall mullet run. Yes the rivers are bursting at the seams with migrating bait, but that isn’t the bulk of our transient mullet. Put your toes to the sand of our Atlantic beaches to see the true mass movement of mullet headed south. Ribbons of finger sized mullet invade the surf zone as far as your eye can see with snook, reds, tarpon, flounder, and jacks in tow. Outside of the breakers massive schools of large 10in. plus size mullet speed south attempting to avoid large predators like tarpon, sharks, kingfish and cobia.
Fishing Cocoa Beach and the Canaveral Bite are ground zero for the mayhem. I will cover this amazing fishery in the October edition to coincide with the peak of our run. I will also be giving a seminar to the Orlando Kayak Fishing Club on September, 3. Be sure to catch up with me on facebook for info on seminars, the hot bite, and issues impacting our amazing fishery. Facebook/Local Lines Guide Service or Facebook/Alex Gorichky. Be sure to mark the date of November 9… You don’t want to miss the Kars Park redfish tourney. More fun than hardcore fishing; these Kars events are a blast for all involved.