Fall has brought us cooler temperatures and with that the water temperature has dropped into the low 70's. This has brought us spanish and king mackerel that are keyed in on bait pods from just off the Pinellas beaches and around the mouth of Tampa Bay to well up inside Tampa Bay north of MacDill AFB. The key is to watch for the birds that are working bait pods that are being pushed up to the top of the water by predator fish. Gold spoons, gotcha plugs and live scaled sardines on a #1 long shank hook will work great for the Spanish Mackerel. Larger baits like threadfin herring, scaled sardines, ladyfish and legal sized spanish mackerel put out on a stinger rig will be good for the king mackerel.
Also with the cooler water I have been finding snook, redfish, trout and flounder all within casting distance of each other. The main thing to look for is a grass flat that is shallow with a good drop off at its edge. Work the deep side of the drop off during the low tide stages, this is where you will find the concentration of fish. Casting further out from the grass to get to the sandy areas in the deeper water can produce some nice catches of flounder.Wade fishing is also a good way to work these areas and also connect with nature.Remember snook season is still closed in our area and the trout season for the south region will be closing for November and December so handle these fish with care when releasing them.
If you would like to try out artificial baits now would be a great time. The fish can be aggressive right now and the top water bite has been on fire. Snook, trout and redfish have all fallen for the rattles of a top water lure for awhile now, but the last few weeks have been phenomenal. Lures like the Top Dog jr and the She Pup by MirrOlure along with the Zara Spook jr by Heddon have been the top producers with a walk the dog retrieve. The gulp shrimp in glow,new penny and white rigged on a 1/4 oz jig head or a 2/0-3/0 weedless hook has also produced many catches of all three but it has also produced some nice catches of flounder from 12 to 20 inches off of the sandy areas near the grass flats or in sand holes surrounded by grass. When using this bait try different speeds of jigging until you find what the fish are after that day. A jigging retrieve with a pause in between is a good starting point, while letting the jig hit bottom on each pause. Most hits will come on the sink so keep an eye on your line, if you see or feel it jump set the hook. You can really feel this type of hit when using braided line in the 10-15 lb range.
Lantern Bay On Woman Lake Minnesota