Pier & Surf – September Fishing Report

You have no idea how glad I am to say good bye to August. Brutal hot days and dirty water made for tough fishing!  September is an awesome transition month as the water temperature starts to drop and our surf and pier action heat up.

The mullet run will be in full swing this month. With that, everything that eats mullet will also be in the surf. Bluefish, Redfish, Tarpon, Ladyfish, Trout, Flounder, and Sharks all cruise the bar looking for mullet. The inlets always attract Redfish during the fall. During the mullet run, the Redfish action is at its best. You don’t have to be in an inlet just within 500yds of one. My favorite rig is a heavy duty fish finder or sinker slider rig. Tie it with 100lb mono and end it with a 5/0 to 7/0 circle hook. The reason for the 100lb mono is Bluefish and Tarpon.  Tip this with a 4” to 6” mullet. Cast this to a near shore deep slough or just on the outside of the sand bar. Hang on and enjoy the fight!

If you want to make things more interesting, try this. Drop down to 20lb leader and use a #1 circle hook. This does two things. The smaller hook does less damage to the mullet. Also, the 20lb leader allows the mullet more swimming action. Last year, I caught more Trout and Redfish on this light rig. However the tradeoff was losing more Bluefish, Jacks, and Tarpon. Smaller mullet on this rig is just about a guaranteed strike. I even landed a few Mangrove snapper last September dragging small mullet near the jetties.

When the mullet run ends, it will be Pompano time! During the mullet run, the shallows are full of fish that will eat Pompano. After the run is when I like to refocus on Pompano. As the water cools the Pomps will be more plentiful and will eagerly gobble up sand fleas, clams, and crab knuckles. We will focus on that in the October issue. Until then do not go to the beach without your cast net.