By: Capt. Bart Marx
As the days begin to get shorter and nights get longer, this is the time of year fish will start changing their patterns. This time of year, we call Southwest Florida “Red October”, which is when the big schools of breeder redfish come in to the estuaries to feed and prepare to go offshore to spawn. This is also the time of year, there are lots of pinfish on the grass flats and redfish love their pinfish. Reds have a crusher in their throat and can crush the pinfish spines for easy eating. I usually catch them on a fly rod with a spinning rod with live bait. They are not too fussy as to what they will eat, even artificial lures hard and soft. Snook will also be getting back to their normal life and feeding after the spawn and will be only getting better as we get closer to winter. Trout will be hanging around the edges of the sandbars in three to four foot of water and as the water cools flounder will start to school up on some of the sand holes where there are current pushing baits across the sand so they may ambush the baits. Looking at the deeper waters off the beaches you may find some of the schools of reds out there too. I like to troll for grouper and this is the beginning of the time when they migrate closer to the beach. I like to use the big lipped lures that will dive thirty to forty feet deep and I’ll troll for grouper around hard bottom and small ledges and the edges of the artificial reefs. Red and gag grouper will hit these lures 50 to 70-foot range for trolling. If we get a few cold fronts, it will trigger the king mackerel to start migrating south for the winter, and don’t be surprised if you see spanish mackerel in the mix. If you fish in 60 to 70 feet you can find some lane and mangrove snappers, and out to 80 feet there should be yellow tail snapper. And this month is when stone crab season opens, if you like to dive for them! If you would like to come along with Capt. Bart and experience how we fish for some of these species give me a call at 941-979-6517 or e-mail me at captbart@alphaomegacharters.com Also, if you have guests coming to visit I have gift certificates for birthdays and holiday gifts. I also do training sessions, this where I come on your boat and teach you where you can take your boat safely and how to use the tackle that you already have.