By Capt. Jamie Thrappas, Yellow Dawg Fishing
September is one of my top 2 favorite months of the year to fish. Other than the fact it’s still hot and smack in the middle of hurricane season the fishing really turns on. Tarpon, snook, redfish, jacks, you name it will be gearing up for the fall mullet run and you better bet I’ll be there for it.
High to outgoing tide switches, especially that week before the full moon are by far the best opportunity at the inlet and all of the causeway bridges north and south of Ponce. To help increase your hookup ratio using fluorocarbon is a must. Hook size should be no less than a 2/0 circle if you’re going for slot or oversized reds & snook, and like 6/0-8/0 circle hooks for tarpon.
For redfish I’m going to use live croakers, mullet, and pin fish as well as cut mullet and blue crab. For snook my go to will be croakers and select shrimp. As far as tarpon go I really like live 6-8″ mullet. I don’t like using artificial on my charters but you can also see a lot of success this time of the year with large swim baits in the 5-9″ range. NLBN, JYG, & Hogy brands to name a few will all work well!
If you want to catch your personal best or just a fish of a lifetime this is the time of year to do it. Put in some time and you’ll eventually get the hang of what works and what doesn’t and trust me, it will be worth it! Give us a shot if you want to experience the mullet run! As always if you see us out there say hello and get on the water!
