By: Paul MacInnis
Every year a vast migration of mullet, both fingerlings and adults, travels down the east coast of Florida. This moving bounty of bait draws in a host of fishy predators and ushers in some of the most frenzied and exciting fishing of the year, especially for those who fish the surf. If you like lots of action from everything from two pound bluefish and jacks all the way up to giant tarpon and sharks, then the fall mullet run is for you. The first pods of mullet usually show up in the central Florida surf at the end of August. The run really cranks up by mid September and remains strong until November. You can certainly do quite well fishing live or dead bait in the surf, but I much prefer to throw lures during the mullet run. Almost any lure that remotely resembles a mullet will get eaten, but using the right lure will improve your success. Here is what I’ll be throwing during this year’s mullet run.
Topwater Plugs
I throw topwaters more than anything, especially during the magic hour, the first hour of daylight in the morning when the topwater bite is so reliable. Bluefish, jacks and big ladyfish are the primary catch. If you just want to play with these smaller species then almost any topwater in your tacklebox will work. I recommend removing all but the tail hook from the plug for safety reasons and because the body of the plug makes for a convenient handle for controlling a fish while removing a hook. Blacktip and spinner sharks are very common during the mullet run and they love to crush a topwater and I love to catch them. For this reason I’ve switched to using stout saltwater grade topwaters that are designed to handle big, strong fish. My favorites are the Williamson Surface Pro SFP130, Monster HighRoller, Super Spook XT, and the 6” Yo-Zuri Surface Cruiser. On the HighRoller, Spook and Yo-Zuri I swap out the front treble hook with a single hook with a gap that is
Subsurface Plugs
When the topwater bite slows down, switching to a subsurface plug will usually get you back in the game. I like lures that dart or wiggle just a foot or so below the surface. I’ll also switch to these plugs when tarpon are around because tarpon tend to strike them better than a surface bait. The subsurface plugs you’ll find in my surf bag are the Rapala X-Rap Subwalk XRSB15 and the Yo-Zuri Mag Darter R1144. Just like topwaters, I switch out the front treble with a single on these lures.
Spoons
If you forced me to use only one lure for all surf fishing it would be a spoon. They are nearly indestructible, cast a mile and will catch almost everything that swims off the beach. Although just about any spoon will work, I prefer the classic, slab style spoon like the Hopkins Shorty and No=Eql and Luhr Jensen Crippled Herring in the plain chrome or silver finish. I like spoons that range from 1 1/2 to 4 inches longs. I almost always have a light spinning rod with me that is rigged with a small spoon like the Hopkins 1/4 ounce Shorty just in case a spanish mackerel school erupts within casting range. I turn to the bigger, heavier spoons when the winds and seas kick up because no lure handles rough conditions like a spoon.
Bait Buster
I’ll admit the D.O.A. Bait Buster is an ugly lure, but it sure catches fish, especially around the mullet schools. I don’t use them much because the bluefish tend to shred them apart, but they earn a spot in my tackle bag for one special opportunity. For reasons unknown to me, surf tarpon absolutely love the Bait Buster so I always want a few with me for those magical days when the tarpon are running close to shore.
Jigs
Snook, redfish, flounder and even seatrout will cruise the first trough right next to shore, especially near high tide. My favorite way to target these fish is to bounce a plastic tail jig along the bottom. I like paddle tail bodies for a little extra vibration and fish them on 1/4 to 3/8 ounce jig heads. Everything that swims in the surf will eat these jigs which means there are many days bluefish can quickly tear through your supply of plastic tails. For this reason I like resilient ElaZTech baits made by Zman, specifically the Zman MinnowZ, DieZel MinnowZ and the PaddlerZ fished on Zman JigheadZ. ElaZTech holds up to toothy fish like bluefish much better than the traditional PVC based plastic used in most soft lures.
Most days I’ll bring three rods to the beach. Two will be eight to nine foot surf rods with stout spinning reels that hold 300 yards of 30 pound test Spectra or Dyneema braid. The other rod will be seven foot with a spinning reel spooled with 10 to 20 pound braid for throwing jigs and smaller spoons. I use two to three feet of 50 to 60 pound test monofilament leader (80 pound for big tarpon) and add about 15 inches of 100 pound test single strand wire if I want to catch sharks.
Certainly there are plenty of lures not mentioned in this article that will catch fish during the mullet run, but these are the lures that work well for me. I urge you to hit the beach this fall and find out what works well for you.
[easy-social-share]