(FT. MYERS BEACH TO CHARLOTTE HARBOR) In my opinion, the water temperature will be the factor in determining the best results for catching fish during the transitional month of October (from summer to fall). We have had a great September leading into the fall and hopefully we will experience a slow and warm weather transition that will afford us the opportunity to continue to catch Redfish, Snook, Tarpon and some of the other species both off of the flats and into the backcountry before they go further ‘up-rivers’ and into the shallow estuaries.
This is the time to go to intercept the game fish (Redfish, Snook and Tarpon) as they chase baits off of the flats and migrate to the mangroves and protective ‘havens’ of warmer waters to come. The Tarpon will be smaller, the Redfish bigger and the Snook more available as they move off of the beaches and into the back country. The tactics should remain the same, except that we should slow the presentations down (just a little) to entice strikes. Also, I am looking forward to targeting the Snook and Tarpon in the canals of Cape Coral on articfials.
Stealth and patience is the order of the day for Redfish, especially when presenting live or cut baits. Anglers fishing the Ft. Myers beach area (north of Estero Bay) may want to try their luck on the back side and in the shallows of the ‘Big’ Island (just east of Picnic Island) with cut baits, shrimps and top water presentations before the winter tides get so low that getting a boat in there is next to impossible. Anglers launching north of the Caloosahatche may find their quarry off of the intercoastal around mile markers 33/34 just off of the oyster bar. If you live or launch further north, try any of the spoil islands surrounded by oyster beds and turtle grass and you should be rewarded.
If I may be of assistance, contact me at [email protected] or phone me at 239-357-6829/239-471-7332.