Surf & Pier – September Fishing Report

This is something you’ll want to hear.
Grab your fishing gear; the mullet are near.
This is the best time of year!

Game time is here fellow anglers. The Mullet Run has officially begun. This kind of fishing can be as fast and furious as you make it. The extremes can be from riding up and down A1A with a drone, to find actively feeding fish, to one pole, one bucket, and a cast net. My strategy is somewhere in between.

I prefer to go to my favorite beach, somewhere between Micklers and Matanzas, and fish multiple poles, using mullet in various ways. Those are live large, live small, chunked large, and small halved.  Also, two different types of rigs; fish finder aka sinker slider and double drop, with hooks ranging from #1 to 7/0. My gear also includes a cast net with 3/8 mesh, live well, aerator, and lots of pre-tied rigs for all the toothy fish.

Let us start with my over-the-top live well. Keep in mind, you can get by with just an empty 5-gallon bucket. This rig will allow you to fish more, and spend less time keeping your bait alive. The key is, to keep the mullet cool, with aerated and clean water. Please see the picture below for a reference, a ten-gallon water cooler, with a hole drilled in the side for air tube., and an aerator clipped to the side, with a two-gallon bucket stored inside, to fill and refresh the live well. Dip net, so your sunblock does not contaminate the water. All of this fits inside the cooler for easy transport to the beach or pier.
Two key tips:  Do not put too many baits in your cooler, 5 large or 12 small, will keep, and pour fresh water in every 30 minutes.

Rig from small to extra heavy, sinker slider #1 circle, 16 inch,  30 lb. mono leader, and enough weight to cast and hold, egg sinker 1oz to 4oz. The same rig with 5/0 50lb or 7/0 100lb. With the 7/0 100 lb., I’m targeting big  reds and tarpon. I only take one dropper rig this time of year. I tie it with 50 lb. and use 5/0 circles.

One final tip, if you are going to target tarpon, make sure you have enough line to stop it. We cannot crank the boat and chase it down. I barely stopped my biggest one with 400 yards of 30 lb. mono. Remember, set your drag light, because the next hit could be a one-pound blue or a 100 lb. silver king!