October Fishing Report

October is typically a phenomenal month to explore the shallows in search of cruising trout or redfish to sight-cast to. On high tides, look for the trout and redfish to be right up along the edge of the shoreline. If the high water is early in the morning with low light, then topwaters have been very productive. If the high water is later in the morning, try slowly drifting within casting range of the shore and look for fish that are laid up. Typically, a jig and soft plastic combo will be a great choice, but small weedless spoons do surprisingly well also.

On low tides, the dock fishing has been lights out. Big schools of upper-slot redfish have been hanging around docks with deeper water toward the end. While you can catch these fish with artificials, they will be much easier to catch on live or natural baits. Natural baits will also give you shots at other species of fish that inhabit docks, like mangrove snapper, flounder, and the like. Set up on the up-current side of the dock and let your baits drift with the tide to the fish. A medium spinning rod and 15 lb braid is enough to catch the vast majority of fish while still keeping it sporting.

It’s getting to be that time of year when the gags start to move shallower and into the bays on many structures in 15–40 ft of water. Although they are catch-and-release only, they can provide some exciting, hard-pulling action when you get into an area with them. There are several ways to target them in shallower water, including live or natural baits, big jigs, and deep-diving/trolling lures. Each technique offers its advantages, and all are very effective when used properly. Personally, I tend to catch more fish on live bait but better fish on plugs and jigs.

The red snapper bite inshore is on fire as well. You can keep snapper the rest of the weekends throughout the remainder of the year. Red snapper are far more spread out in the bay than most people really think about. I catch lots of good fish in the 4–8 lb class in water ranging from 15–30 ft. When fishing less than 20 ft, I will oftentimes just flat-line a live bait or fish a jig and soft plastic, similar to what I would throw at a redfish. A 1/2 oz jig and 5″ soft plastic jerkbait is a killer way to catch shallow-water snapper. In water from 20–40 ft, I like to use a 3/4 oz lead and a live pilchard, pinfish, or a chunk of cigar minnow. Of course, they will also eat all other forms of live and natural baits.

While fishing around the bay, be on the lookout for schools of big jack crevalle cruising around. They will be easy to spot because they push a huge wake when on the flats and typically destroy any baits or lures that come by. Be sure to have enough rod and reel to handle them because they are absolute maniacs when you hook them. Topwaters and other surface lures are the most fun to throw at them, and you will usually have several fish fighting over your plug.

Good luck! If you have additional questions about what’s biting, how to catch them, or if you’d like to book a trip, I encourage you to give me a call or shoot me an email.