The fishing has been pretty good lately, and the lagoon is starting to show some signs of the fall transition.

I’ve been on the water several times over the past week, both with clients and on my own, fishing everything from early mornings through the evening. One thing that has really stood out is the amount of feeding activity. Snook, redfish, and speckled trout have all been active, and there are plenty of signs that the predators are paying attention to the baitfish.

I’ve been seeing and hearing fish feeding around the mangroves, spoil islands, docks, and other areas holding bait. The snook in particular have been aggressive, with some fish absolutely hammering baits and making some serious runs.

Live bait has been working well. Pinfish recently produced a tarpon for me, and I’ll be putting more focus on live mullet as we get closer to the fall mullet run. If you’re just getting started with live bait, look for areas where you can see or hear baitfish moving. Finding the bait is often the first step toward finding the predators.

For artificial lures, I’ve been having better luck slowing things down rather than burning a lure back. Work your lure around mangrove edges, points, docks, and other structure where fish can sit and wait for bait to come by.

The water is still warm and the weather is still very much summer, but the lagoon is beginning to feel like it’s transitioning. More bait, more feeding activity, and increasingly aggressive predators are all good signs.

If you’re new to fishing the lagoon, I’d keep it simple this week: find the bait, fish the structure, and don’t be afraid to slow your presentation down. Early morning can be an especially good time to be on the water, but there has been feeding activity throughout the day.