Fishing Report by Captain Mike Turner, October 12, 2009
This week the air temperature has been more August like and water temperature is not much cooler. Every day I fished this week we had a big variety of species and good numbers of fish. The long list of species included: Redfish, Trout, Snook, Snapper, Flounder, Grouper, Spanish mackerel, Sharks and Blue Fish.
Early in the week we had a very good snapper bite, but it slowed down by the end of the week. The Snapper fishing should pick up again when the tide cycle becomes more favorable. Large Redfish schools have been illusive, but we have managed to catch at least a few Reds per trip. Many of the Redfish we caught were over the slot limit, but we did manage a few keepers. Snook have been easy to locate, but getting them to eat has been a challenge. I think the Snook are as puzzled by this weather as we are; they don't know whether to transition into the fall pattern, or go back to the passes like it summer time. Fishing deep grass patches outside of Rattlesnake Island has been very productive. On Friday we sat on one grass patch and caught over 100 fish: mostly Trout, Mackerel and Bluefish.
Over the next few weeks, as the cool fronts start coming through, we should see more of a fall fishing pattern. This means Kingfish on the beaches, keeper Grouper inside of Tampa Bay, Redfish in the Manatee River, and Snook moving up into the rivers and inlets. Fall fishing is a great time to get a variety of fishing experiences in one day. Often, I take clients King fishing early in the morning, followed by Grouper and Snapper and finish up by throwing in a little Redfish and Snook action on the way back to the dock.
Captain Mike Turner is a Palmetto and has spent many years fishing the area waters. Call Mike, book a charter with him and let him share his experience with you.
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