Seasonal Migrations

By Capt. Dave Stephens

Well fellow anglers fall has arrived. This brings in one of two, of my favorite times of year to fish. This is the time of year when we have a lot of great things happening. Our pelagic fish that have been spending their time in the north, are migrating south. For the anglers that are new to our area this is a great time of year. We have large schools of ladyfish and jacks that are running the bars feeding on the schools of glass minnows. It can be as easy as locating a large flock of birds. This is one of the short periods of time that locating birds will put you on fish. Visit your local tackle shop, like Fishin’ Franks in Port Charlotte. I recommend a spoon this time of year; it resembles what the fish are feeding on.

It’s also hard to talk about fall without talking about my favorite game fish. Snook will be putting on the feed bags. These tropical fish will be looking to add some extra weight before winter approaches. I would love to tell you about a secret bait, but there’s not much they’re not eating. Look for areas that have good tidal flow, incoming or outgoing. I also start looking around areas that are close to deep water. If we have a crazy cool front make it to us, these guys will run for cover. Snook prefer water temps above seventy degrees. The redfish bite this fall has been really good. We were very fortunate so far and haven’t had any bad water around the passes. On the higher tides the mangroves have been producing good numbers of fish. As the tide falls, look for fish on the flats. The biggest thing I look for when locating open water reds is mullet. Reds love to follow schools of mullet. As mullet move down the flats, they stir up smaller prey. Who doesn’t like an easy meal? I have also been catching some very nice sea trout on the flats. Some over twenty inches!

I’m sure everyone is aware of the closures, so I would like to share an often over-looked fish that I enjoy on the grill. As mentioned above about our migrating pelagic fish, Spanish mackerel are also making their way south. Not only do these guys offer a great fight, they are great table fare. They often get a bad rap because they’re mackerel. Well the trick is to only keep what you plan to eat that night. Put these guys skin side down on the grill with butter, Everglades Seasoning, and fresh garlic. Make sure to use some tin foil also. I promise you’ll look at macks different after this!

Contact Back Bay Xtremes at 941-916-5769