Well summer is gone and so are the summer fish, just like the kids they are back in school. If you are heading out to go fishing during the week day remember to add some extra time as the school buses will be out. I look for the waters to start cooling off a few degrees and that should bring the migrating fish back south. I would start looking for cobia and sailfish to start moving south even though we have had a very strong bite on them all summer long.
The bottom fishing will continue to improve as the water starts getting cooler. The bottom fish can be caught on many different types of bait, live fish to chunks of fish. The best is live bait, I have found greenies, pogies and pinfish which all work very well. These fish will be holding up tight to structure and reefs. Vertical jigs will also work very well. I have found that slowly pulling the fish away from the area will be much easier to get it to the surface. If you should catch an under size fish remember to vent it and return it back to the water as fast as possible. I have seen lots of fish floating on the surface because people are not venting them.
Kingfish will be moving in closer to shore as the late mullet run starts. This will help the person with the smaller boat. Remember to have plenty of stinger rigs on board as a nice size king will twist that wire and it will not be able to be used again. Make sure your reels have plenty of line on them if not replace it because you never can tell when that 50lb king is going to take the bait.
The sharks are going to be a problem again this month as the mullet run will be going on, with warm waters the sharks will be here and you will catch plenty of them before you get your prize fish. Sharks are a great fighting fish and will test your strength and stamina.
Moving closer to shore the snook, tarpon, bonita and Spanish mackerel are working the bait balls of shiners, they all put up a great fight on light tackle.
I have been hearing and seeing so many boating accidents this past month that I want to tell everyone please be very careful on the water. I would recommend for everyone to take a boaters safety course, these courses can be found online or from your local volunteer coast guard auxiliary. If you are not sure of some rules don’t be afraid to ask the FWC they will help you.
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