BACKCOUNTRY / BAY / INSHORE:
Early fall is one of my favorite times of year to fish this area. The temperatures are a bit more pleasant and the fish are actively trying to fatten up before they head to their cold weather hideouts. Speckled trout fishing is great right now and the early morning bite is still the best! Try casting your favorite top-water lure all the way to the bank because the bigger trout are feeding right up on the bank, sometimes with their backs out of the water. If live bait is your method of choice, try using a finger mullet; that’s what they are after up close to the bank. The redfish are everywhere on the grass flats and the muddy bottoms around the bayous. There are some really big schools of redfish working the flats in West Bay around the bridge in the intracoastal waterway. If you’re sight fishing, just pick a flat and start easing along until you see a school pushing water, or you see tails in the air. Being stealthy will make all the difference in your success; if you spook them, it’s over. The bay is full of Spanish mackerel and they are easy to catch. If you’re in a boat, you can troll spoons or any small trolling rig. Using a chum bag is very effective because it will draw them in close where you can cast to them with a lure or live bait. If you’re on the bank or the jetties, casting a spoon or live bait is the best bet. Plenty of big mangrove snapper are being caught in the bay around the bridges and structure using a light weight bottom-rig and your choice of cut or live bait. Flounder are being caught in good numbers by fishing a soft plastic jig on the edges of mud and grass, or in the deeper potholes in the bay. The best bait for flounder is a live bull minnow. Some really nice redfish are being caught on the beach casting crabs in the surf; whiting are there too. There have been some big king mackerel caught of the beaches and the piers. If sharks are what you’re after you should have no trouble finding them. Anchor up, drop a chum-line and use fresh cut bait, then it’s just a matter of time.
OFFSHORE:
Red snapper season is over, but there are plenty of good catches of big mangrove snapper being harvested. The good news is that gag grouper is still open, and the wrecks are covered up with them. There are also some really good red grouper being caught and you don’t have to go far to find them. The only trick is that you have to get through the schools of giant trigger fish and amberjack to get to the structure. After Irma moved through, she left a fair bit of debris floating in the gulf. If you spot some stuff floating go check it out, it’s usually holding triple tail and mahi, which you can catch on light tackle. If you can cast to it before you come up on it, you may be lucky enough to hook up on a sailfish, they love the floating debris as well. Some smoker kings are being caught trolling down the beach and over the wrecks as well as flat lining live bait on top of the wrecks or around the buoys.
The weather is great and the crowds are gone. It’s the perfect time to grab some family and friends and make a memory or two. Hope to see you there!
CAPT. DARYL SHUMATE
Liquid Native Charters
850-624-6968
Liquidnativecharters.com