Water temperatures continue to fall thanks to overcast skies and off and on showers. Good tides and light winds have led to great catches. Get out early to beat the rain and if showers hold off, stay a little longer and take advantage of the bite. Capt. Rob Modys, SoulMate Charters. Good tides are in our future and that means a good, solid bite will follow. We are rolling into Fall and the fish are on the move and ready to fatten up for cooler weather. Redfish have been the focus with the best bite occurring around the mid to upper tide. Look for them around mangrove islands and in deeper cuts when the water is low. We are having good success with live shrimp but dont shy away from artificial baits and flies. The seatrout bite is improving on the flats around Mound Key. Its best to drift for them and then lock the boat down once they are located. Live shrimp under popping corks will make them easier to find. Watch for schools of jacks and ladyfish crashing bait on the open bays. Move to intercept and enjoy the action. Capt. Alex Dolinski of Spot On Charters noted that Fall has arrived in southwest Florida. The waters are cooling down and the migratory fish and birds are moving south. Bait pods have finally made it into our bays and coastal waters. Snook have been feeding well along the beaches and are going after both live bait and artificial lures. Soft jerk baits and Rattle Traps thrown along the shallow surf will get the bite. Redfish, seatrout, jacks, flounder, permit and sheepshead have been good bets in the back waters. Live bait of almost any kind under a float works well on the shallow flats or around oyster bars. Cut baits on jig heads can be used along deeper oyster banks and mangrove edges. Capt. Alex said that both the incoming and outgoing tides were producing this this past week. Capt. Steve Sewell of Hawgwild Charters reported that the redfish bite is really heating up and the snook are starting to bite in their normal hangouts. Cast netted pinfish and whitebait has been his bait of choice. There are large schools of glass minnows all over the grass flats and monster jacks are on the attack. Theyll hit most anything you throw at them. Capt. Jon Fetter of Catching The Cure Charters said that anglers looking for action this time of year should fish the grass flats and nearby mangroves and oyster bars for redfish. They have started to school up and will move on and off the grass flats depending on the tide. During shallow water times look for them pushing wakes over the grass as they look for food. Live pinfish under floats or shrimp on jig heads both work well. On higher tides move your efforts to the mangroves and oyster bars using shrimp tipped jig heads or pinfish under floats. Snook season is in full swing and they will soon start moving away from the beaches and toward their winter hangouts. Free lined threadfin herrings or pinfish on 3/0 circle hooks are the best bet. Toss them around floating docks and near structure along mangrove shorelines. Capt. Bill Curtis recently fished a father and son team from Kentucky onboard the Pro-Staff boat out of Fish Tale Marina on Ft. Myers Beach. Light winds and an overcast sky kept the heat at bay. The tide was at its peak and as soon as it began to move the bite was on! The first fish turned out to be the biggest of the day, a redfish that was just in the slot at 27 inches. His anglers caught several more redfish and snook along with lots of mangrove snapper with a few of those being big enough to add to the box for dinner. They finished up by putting a nice size sheepshead on ice and managed to outrun the approaching afternoon storms.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 17:56:56 +0000
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