Most of the Florida Panhandle is in the full swing of fall. It’s that time to get out and spend some time looking for your favorite tasty fall species. The best bets for this weekend will be flounder and redfish inshore, and grouper and wahoo offshore.
Inshore
The inshore bite has been great with the best bites coming from redfish, flounder, and slot size trout. With-out-a-doubt the fishing has been good, and once you find the fish, it can be great. Having the right baits will be important for targeting species but almost anything will bite a Gulp! on a jighead.
If you don’t feel much like holding a rod and reel—how is that even possible?—it might be time to find a friend with a gigging boat. The reports from giggers on the fall flounder run have been very impressive, with the key being in the right places with little-to-no wind and a good set of lights.
If seatrout are your game, this is a great time to fish the creeks, bayous, and river mouths. The trout seem to be feeding on two main baits, live shrimp and small glass baits. Drifting live shrimp under a popping cork with a 3/0-4/0 circle hook will produce. If live bait is not your thing, dead bait and jigs with soft plastics under popping corks will also work. If the fish are holding in deeper pockets, it may be time to use the same setup with splitshots instead of popping corks. While fishing in these areas both white trout and redfish will be in the mix.
The redfish bite has been good, but once located, it has been hot. Two main places to check for reds would be the passes and jetties, and deeper pockets in bayous and river mouths. If fishing the backwaters, look for small runoff areas or little creekmouths. Many times these areas are always worth a look. It’s also not too late to stalk some reds in the high reed grasses. Many times when reds are tailing these fish can be weary, keeping a distance and casting past the fish will help to keep them feeding.
The flounder have moved in and the run this year has been great. Many awesome reports have been coming from our entire region. Flounder can be caught either gigging or by rod and reel, I suggest you try both.
During the day the rod and reel are the way to go. The bait of choice would be a mud minnow on or near the bottom. Key locations would be the passes and jetties areas, as well as any place with rocks and sand. These fish do have large teeth, so a stronger leader is a must.
During the day the rod and reel are the way to go. The bait of choice would be a mud minnow on or near the bottom. Key locations would be the passes and jetties areas, as well as any place with rocks and sand. These fish do have large teeth, so a stronger leader is a must.
If you get a chance to go gigging at night it will be a time you won’t forget. With cooler evenings and light north winds, many of our great flounder areas are on fire. Keep your eyes out and gigs ready!
Offshore
The bottom bite has been great with gag, red, and scamp groupers biting well anywhere from 100 feet and deeper. Now is the best time to get out and troll, but weather may have the last say. Looks like our area will have the best weather on Sunday and could offer an outstanding time to troll some baits. Late fall trolling species include wahoo, white and small blue marlin, mahi-mahi, and the occasional smaller yellowfin tuna. Seems the best bites are coming from boats fishing 400 feet or deeper.
The reef bite has been great on both natural bottom and artificial wrecks. If fishing some of the larger public wrecks, being there early will pay off. Grouper and amber jack have been biting pretty consistently–location and bait choice may bee pinfish using will be the biggest determining factors.
If fishing wrecks, it seems the majority of grouper have come off of the ends of the wrecks or on small outcroppings. Large live baits in the bottom 5 feet of water will be your best bet for bruiser groupers. If fishing live-bottom, take the time to dial in the area, many times drifting is the best way to work a new area. Many of the shallower natural bottom areas are producing quality red grouper and scamps.
Now is a great time to get out and troll. It looks like Sunday will be a good day for it. The best reports have been coming from boats fishing the Nipple (specifically 131 Hole), the Elbow, and the Steps. Once the fish are located, the rods should stay bent. Many quality wahoo and mahi have been coming over the gunnels and it seems that every boat out is using something a little different for bait. No matter what bait you’re using, staying in a productive area will keep your lines bent.
The best wahoo bites are coming from boats pulling deeper running lures behind trolling weights. Stagger your baits in order to cover a larger amount of the water column. The tuna bite has been great from those that can make it out to the floating oil platforms. Watch for fish to mark between 200 and 500 feet and position up current