breeding reds

Fall is in the air and my favorite time to fish has finally arrived! The next few months have countless opportunities for some really amazing fishing. The last few weeks have been very tough for most folks, back to back hurricanes Helene and Milton have caused lots of destruction, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The higher water levels in the lagoon have really made fishing flat out on fire! Most anglers can find a great bite with every species in the lagoon taking full advantage of all the displaced water, snook, tarpon, redfish, trout and black drum have been consistent and in large numbers all throughout the region around culvert pipes, and flooded mangrove shorelines that are littered with silver mullet. It’s just that easy find the silver fingerling mullet or flowing water and you’ll find the predators nearby. My favorite way to fish these areas is with an 1/8 oz paddle tail or gulp shrimp, these are great baits when looking for fish and help to cover a lot of water. Once you have located an area with good numbers you can slow down and get some impressive numbers especially by switching to live or cut bait.

The approaching full moon should get our breeder redfish spawning in large schools. Look for them on outer sandbars and channel drop offs. This is the one time of year where they get silly and will eat just about anything you throw at them — big weed-less spoons, jerk-shads — really anything large and moving will produce a bite. However it’s important to get these fish in quick and get them on their way even faster as they are definitely breeding.

The inlets and beaches are still producing. Look for fish crushing bait pods along the surf and around the jetties all across the region. Here you’ll find snook, redfish, and the occasional tarpon with plenty of action from jacks and bluefish to follow. I prefer live bait this time of year in particular; it’s hard to beat a 6-8 inch mullet on a fish finder rig with a 2oz egg sinker.

I hope everyone recovers quick from the hurricanes and gets back to their regular scheduled program, for those who need assistance please feel free to reach out to me and I will do any and everything possible to help out, cool weather and great fishing is on the way, get out and get ya some!