Rick Davidson (grassflats2@yahoo.com), Editor
"The RedManiac"
October’s been a great month for fishing the Steinhatchee area. The gag grouper bite has finally arrived, the flats are full of migrating baitfish, and the Ship’s Store has been crowded with willing anglers. The only challenge this past month has been the weather, which has greeted most weekends with windy conditions and 2 to 5 foot seas. One of our guides managed a limit of gags in water only 13 feet deep…but for some reason he just wouldn’t tell me where this was. In general, though, the offshore bite is requiring 25 to 35 feet of water. Surprisingly, the kingfish bite is a little delayed this year; the scream of drags should be heard almost any day now as they migrate back through our area toward the south. Inshore, the fishing has been steady. The flats are loaded with trout, with easy limits available, but the larger fish are still hard to find. Redfish are readily available, and still being found in large schools. Your job is to find the schools with the large fish in them. In the Gainesville Offshore Fishing Club tournament, held on the 20th, many redfish were caught, but the largest was a little over 4 pounds…except for Joey Landreneau, who found a school of large fish and weighed in a 27 inch, 7.2-pound whopper. Hot tickets this month from the Ship’s Store have been the new tubs of Gulp baits, Capt. Mike Hakala’s Flats Candy spoons for redfish, Mann’s Stretch baits for grouper, and live shrimp and pinfish, available for purchase.
The appearance of the new Sea Hag mascot, Capt. Jack, has been bringing much luck to anglers over the last month. Look around the Ship's Store for Jack and give him a pet for luck!
Captain Brian Smith, www.bigbendcharters.com
Morning sea conditions differ greatly from evening conditions. If I had my fancy, I’d delay the morning departure until at least ten when the sea was working itself out and fish the afternoon into the evening in the smoother conditions. The obvious reason: a smooth ride is a good thing. The second reason, just as important, is that the grouper are biting and an all-day adventure isn’t necessary to produce a fine box of grouper for the grill and/or freezer.
Grouper are biting shallow (trolling) out to deeper water (trolling and bottom fishing). The best bite is around 48-55 feet on hard bottom. Live bait is a strong ticket, but frozen bait is working as well. For larger grouper, lop the head off a large live bait and send it down. “Truck” sized red grouper are the most likely takers but nice gags are biting well too. When the seas flatten out, try drifting to increase the number of honey holes you can sample. Trolling is a viable option now. Lately, the best color has been green tiger stripe Mann’s Stretch 30’s. Simply go to a general area where you have several good numbers and troll between them, dragging that plastic.
Kingfish haven’t shown up strong, but there are some out there. Best bet is to twist on a two foot section of #5 wire leader in front of the plug just in case. A kingfish steak is a tasty fall treat on the barbecue, especially after marinating in Italian salad dressing. Grunts, Florida snapper and sea bass are biting well on grouper spots as well. Don’t pass up the opportunity for a few great meals by strictly looking for grouper. If nothing else, the feeding activity on the bottom may instigate a grouper bite as well. Remember the order of business on any fishing trip is safety, fun and fish. The fish are the last factor in the equation. The best fish of the day may not be as far away as you might think.
Captain Wiley Horton, www.tunersportfishing.com
The fishing for grouper has improved significantly as the waters offshore begin to cool down after a long, hot summer. The red snapper bite has been spot on from 75 feet out, but unfortunately the season will close at the end of October and re-open next spring. There are still a few cobia around, and king mackerel will begin to show up in numbers in November.
The persistent easterly wind has pushed an enormous amount of sea grass offshore making trolling more difficult. It's become really important to check your plugs often and clean them when they get fouled with grass…. the groupers aren't salad eaters. Watch your rod tip for any lessening of the plug's vibrating motion for a clue as to when you've snagged some weeds.
NMFS and the Gulf Council are considering options for grouper fishing…. the red grouper bag limit was reduced to one fish due to some faulty data and the limit could be raised to two fish per person. Gags are now considered to be over fished…there will certainly be a reduction in the bag limit and possibly an extended closed season. I will be posting the latest regulations on my web site as they occur. Catch 'em up.
Captain Steve Rassell, www.lastcastrass.com
Fishing has been good to great. There are still plenty of slot red fish to be taken in shallow water. Trout fishing has been steady--limits come easy one day and you have to work hard for them the next. The water temp needs to drop a few more degrees to move the larger schools in. Sand trout action has been great around the deeper sand bars and there are still some Spanish roaming the flats.
Captain Tommy Thompson, www.flanaturecoast.com/capttommy
Inshore fishing has been continuing to improve, with the flats loaded with trout. While the lunkers have been a little scarce, fishing topwaters in 2-5 feet in depth and jig/grub tail combinations in deeper water have been very successful in capturing limits. Strong tidal flow and the presence of baitfish are the key factors that can make or break an inshore trip. Recently my trips have been primarily targeting redfish, with multiple fish taken in shallow water, but some redfish have been taken a long distance offshore on flats, especially those areas with limestone boulders and rocks. I’ve been fishing everything from topwaters to spinner baits, such as the Redfish Magic, to gold spoons with great success. The shallow water fishing is very productive right now; so let’s go fishing!
My lucky mascot, Capt. Kirby, has already done well this fall!
Captain Rick Bouley, www.naturecoastflatsfishing.com
I’ve been out of town for much of the month, but have had a few trips and here are some pics. Fishing has been very good, as you can see!
NOVEMBER 2007 FISHING FORECAST
The grouper bite will continue to be very productive in November, in waters from 25-45 feet. Gags will replace red grouper as the targets. Trolling over hard bottom, even when there aren’t large rocks or boulders, can be very productive this time of year, so spend some time with your bottom machine so you can learn what to look for. Subtle changes in the hardness of the bottom can mean a very successful trip. Trolling is the best way to cover these areas. The other major change offshore this month will be the (somewhat late) arrival of the migrating kingfish through our area. Live bait with stinger hooks will score well, but kings will be glad to try and take the head off one of your grouper plugs as well. Once you’ve located fish, careful anchoring and bottom fishing may provide plenty of action.
Inshore, the fishing will depend a great deal on temperatures. At this time, we’re experiencing some record high temperatures. As the temps continue to decrease throughout the month, redfish will begin to migrate offshore (generally those fish over 30 inches) and the others will continue to stage outside of creeks, moving with tidal flow. When the temperatures get really low, they might move into creeks and can be found in deep holes. Unfortunately, winter tides make it challenging to get into very shallow water. Very shallow draft boats, kayaks, or canoes can get into the shallows, but before you try this without any other experience, consider fishing shallow with one of our inshore guides. Trout will likewise move into deeper water with very cold temperatures. For both species, slow your retrieve down, and fish suspending plugs very slowly, such as the MirrOlure MirrOdine or Catch 2000 series. The main determinant of fishing success in November is the weather….let’s hope for a few great days, and take advantage of them when they appear.
