Fall seems to be running a little late this year. Yes, we have had a few cold fronts come through the Tampa Bay area, but none of them have been very significant or have lasted long. I'm really beginning to think that we are going to have a very cold winter this year, unlike ones past. In the last few years, there were days around Christmas that were warm enough to use live bait. On those days, the water temperature remained in the lower 70's or upper 60's. When the water temperature is in that range, you can catch a lot of good fish on shiners. The next month should not only bring some cooler weather, but also great fishing.
The redfish bite has been out of control. Lately it hasn't been unusual for us to have three to four rods bent at the same time with a redfish on the end. The few cold fronts that we've had, although they haven't been significant, have caused the big schools of redfish to break up a bit. However, we are still catching many great fish; we just aren't catching four of them at a time. As the water temperature drops, the redfish will do a lot of moving around, therefore, we will be seeing a lot of them move to shallow water. It can be hard to catch them in extremely shallow water because they seem to get spooked easier there than in deeper water. When the fish get in shallow water, you have to really start analyzing what the fish are going to do before they actually do it in order to catch them. One thing that has helped me find redfish at different times of the year is looking for big schools of mullet. At this time of year, if you see big schools of mullet on the flats, you can almost bet that there are redfish mixed in with them.
Although the cold fronts that we've had haven't been significant, they have decreased the water temperature enough to get a good push of bigger snook on the flats. Over the past few years, the fall season has been one of my favorite times to catch big snook. These great fish are starting to make their way to their winter homes. Snook don't eat as much during the winter as other seasons, so they are trying to get a full belly during the fall. The number one factor with fishing this time of year is the weather. The many cold fronts we get this time of year will turn the snook bite on and off. It can be tuff to work with the wind on certain days, but I promise you that your hard work can also pay off greatly.
Although I personally haven't fished for tarpon much lately, I do know that there are still some fish around. Most of the fish are off of the beaches, but there should also be some fish at the Skyway Bridge. The king fish are here… just of the beaches. When you get a good northeast wind and a little cooler weather, the kingfish will appear right on the beaches. Please visit www.castawaychartersinc.com and book your fall fishing trip today!
