[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his October should be full of tricks and treats for those of us lucky enough to get out on the water. After experiencing what I would consider the best August and September of dolphin and sail fishing I’ve seen in over 30 years of living here, I expect this month to be even better. As the water starts to cool, the Treasure Coast will experience the start of its fall fishing season (my favorite). The winds will clock around from the southeast to the northwest, and when they do expect droves of fish moving down the coastline. Dolphin, sailfish, wahoo, kingfish, and all other pelagic species will be migrating down our reef system in search of warm water and more importantly, food! As always, weed lines and current edges will produce good action, but make an effort to focus fishing around schools of bait this fall and early winter. On days when you can’t find weeds or rips, try bottom structure. Even though dolphin and sails are considered top water fish, that doesn’t mean that they don’t congregate around bottom.
Trolling is my favorite approach this time year. Four small ballyhoo rigged on Mustad circle hooks and pulled behind either ballyhoo or mullet dredges from Cannon 10 TS downrigger’s is how we do it aboard Off the Chain. We also use Canyon Gear’s dredge head skirts to add some color for a sure fire way to increase your amount of bites. Dredges not only raise more fish, but bring them closer to the boat too, providing a bite you can see and in turn, a better hook up ratio. High-speed FinNor Marquesa reels spooled with 15-or-20-pound Suffix, on 6’6” light Blackfin rods with a light drag will also help you get more fish to the boat. These rods and reels are designed for circle hook fishing, and they do make a difference. October is also a good month to try a down rigger with a spoon, or a natural bait with a dredge head on it to target the wahoo in the early morning or late afternoon. Daytime swordfish is also great this time of year, as are the shallow water reefs for snapper and grouper.
If you’d like to book any of these trips, or if you have any questions about them, please give me a call.
I hope your October is Off the Chain.
