There are many common questions that I get as a fishing guide, but one of the most common happens to be one of the easiest to answer. When is the best time of year for fishing this area? Both locals and visitors alike tend to ponder on this, and many times my answer is ‘whenever you can go’. Because we honestly never have a down time that puts fishing on the back burner in Central Florida. Summer thru winter here is always something super fun to catch no matter if you enjoy fishing offshore, near coastal, or in our lagoon waters. Even with all that fishy fun to be had twelve months out of the year one period stands tall above the rest. The fall mullet run is not only ‘The’ time to wet a line, but it is also a spectacle that can only be quantified by those who have seen its glory. Bait schools so thick it seems one could walk on them with every manner of predator fish feeding until their bellies are over stuffed. Typically the end of August and all of September is prime time to experience this mass migration of mullet from north to south. As cold fronts start to sweep across the SE United States and well before we even get a glimmer of their reprieve in temperatures the scene is set in motion. Knowing that the water will soon become uncomfortably cold in those more northern states the mullet that have enjoyed the summer in bays and backwaters get a little jittery. As if someone sent a mass fishy email they all get to moving towards those warm South Florida waters for a winter vacation. This mass migration of food fish streams down the coast and even can be seen in the lagoon waters. Every mullet from the little fingerlings all the way up to the several pound ‘smoker’ mullet will be found along with many other forms of bait.
This is the very definition of a transition time and all our finned friends can feel it. This is a time of plenty set smack on the doorstep of the winter hardships. The feast is enjoyed by everything from redfish and snook to the giant tarpon and kingfish found just outside the breakers. Bluefish and jacks will harass mullet to no end and even flounder will get in on the fun. The beaches and Port Canaveral will come alive and produce no matter the tide or time as long as the bait is moving. This is one of the top times for locals to have a blast and test their skills. If you’ve never experienced this it’s not a bad idea to book with a charter and get some solid information on how to make the magic happen. Be sure to get to us quick though, because those in the know will be filling our date books early.
