Mangrove snapper will be a prized target species while reef fishing in September, just ask Rick Roberts (center) who caught this sturdy mangrove aboard the Safari 1. PHOTO CREDIT: Safari 1.
[dropcap]R[/dropcap]eef fishing in depths of 50 to 180 feet will continue to be the strategy of choice for offshore anglers during the last days of summer. Mutton, mangrove, and vermilion snapper will continue to spawn through the early weeks of September, providing anglers with many opportunities to locate the “fish bedding zones” of these tasty swimming organisms. Naturally occurring coral and artificial reefs will be the home for all three of these species of snapper, not to mention grouper and cobia, which can also be present, simultaneously, at these underwater structures. Positioning is one of the key components to successfully capturing these reef fish and requires captains and anglers to be confident in how their baits are being deployed in relation to the reef structure they are fishing on.
September will open the door for transitions in the near coastal waters offshore of Stuart. These days will be flavored by the enduring Florida, summertime sun, sprinkled with the chance for tropical weather and resulting ground swells that originate from close passing low-pressure systems. Tropical lows that curve pass the peninsula have the potential to send out long period waves and “ground seas” that have a tendency to impact local water conditions, as well as rearrange and move around resident fish populations. These large ground swells, which are a top to bottom wave, can pull sand up from the ocean floor to the surface. Pervasive swells of this type that last for several days can suspend massive amounts of sand up in the water column creating unfavorable conditions for the majority of offshore fish species. During these intervals of ground seas, anglers will have to search out cleaner water conditions, in the form of color changes that represent better fishing zones. It sometimes becomes easier for captains and anglers, alike, to nail down where they want to start fishing when the water clarity conditions are dirty inshore, that is, to continue offshore until the water cleans up and a desired color change is found.