October and November are two months where Florida light tackle fishing gets its reputation from. Redfish, Trout, Bass, Snook, and Grouper are just a few of the species of fish that are targeted as the water off the Gulf Coast begins to cool. As cooler northern air dips south, our water temperatures lower from the mid 80's into the 70's and upper 60's. This rapid cooling of the Gulf water sends most fish into a feeding frenzy as they hurry to stock up the rest of their fat for the winter.
On a recent charter out of the Crystal River area my clients and I had a day where it seemed that the fish would hit anything including a bare hook. We began the morning with a flood outgoing tide so I decided to target some monster Reds that have been staging in potholes just before the extreme low tides. The first stop we made it only took Julie Kolinsky 2 casts to land a 25" Redfish (what a way to start the morning). For the next 2 hours we runned and gunned from spot to spot just before the area we were fishing became completely high and dry. We managed to leave the area with three beautiful keeper Redfish and tons of "Rat Reds".
After the early morning redfish bite I decided to try some local grouper holes in 8-10 foot of water. The action was fast and furious as we landed everything from snapper, mackerel, flounder, and sea bass. Those were all bonuses compared to the 3 grouper we caught all over 22". I had a blast watching my 4 clients hauling in grouper after grouper on 4 lb SpiderWire. What a day Reds in the a.m. and Grouper in the p.m.
The light winds and foggy, overcast days of October and November help keep the temperatures down and the productivity of topwater fishing extremely high. I love to Walk-the-Dog in the middle of light drizzle or during a foggy day. On a recent scouting trip myself and a long time fishing friend spent the day exploring a remote area of the Salt River, which is known for its miles of winding creeks and islands. As we trolling motored along a shoreline we noticed that there were tons of little finger mullet scurrying along the bank. Every once in a while we would hear a little pop and turn around only to see a small boil behind us. Our topwater lures and Berkley Gulp! Flukes were exactly the same size as these finger mullet we were seeing so we knew it would only be a matter of time before something would come to checkout our baits.
Of course the very first fish to show up was an 8 lb Jack Crevalle which was actually a great fish to break the ice with. As we entered a little cut in the shore line my partner and I both made perfect casts along the edges. BANG! BANG! We were both hooked up. The funny part of the whole fight was that his fish jumped and my fished really pulled drag. On the same part of the cut laid a 3lb largemouth bass and slot sized redfish. I have caught bass in brackish water before but never as many as I caught in this particular area. Now, the bass and reds were a welcome sight but the 30" snook that surprised me really made the day. After three or 4 jumps she was released to fight another day.
Fishing has been phenomenal lately. If your excited about fishing or just catching fish give Red Hot Fishing Charters a call today were are in the fishing memories business.
(352) 634-4002 kylemessier@yahoo.com www.redhotfishingcharters.com
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