The first half of October was a continuation of September. Fishing was pretty good in the bays and flats of St. Joseph Sound and Clearwater Harbor. Weather was stable and rather hot for this time of year. Temps ranged from 88 to 90 degrees. Water temperatures around 84 to 86 degrees tapered off slightly due mainly to shorter days and less sunshine. Client's trips during this time produced trout, redfish, ladyfish, jacks and the occasional snook. All were on the ticket for inshore waters along the west coast.
On all of my trips, I was in constant look out for schooling redfish. This time of year they group up in big schools on the flats as water temps cool down. Most of the redfish found were in small schools of less than a half dozen. No big push in this area yet.
In the middle of October we had our first cold front come through and things cooled down considerably. Air temp dropped to the low 50s and water took a big plunge to around 64 degrees. That's a 20 degree drop in three days. With this drastic decline, most fish dive for deep water cover for a few days. Afterwards, the Florida sunshine took over and warmed the inshore waters quickly. Flats fish made their way back to shallow water.
The last half of the month, the air and water temps bounced back to their October normal range. With water temp back to 76, clients were again catching our usual inhabitants. Trout, mackerel, ladyfish and jacks are plentiful on most shallow water flats. Redfish are scattered throughout the inshore waters and still have not schooled. Snook have pushed to back waters and canals for the winter. But some stragglers have been seen around a few spoil islands and docks close to their winter haunts. Check them out. You may be surprised.
All can be found with a little perseverance and good local knowledge.
