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Fishing Report:
I like to fish early in the day during September when fish are most likely to be active. Whether it is snook under the lights before daylight or cruising in the surf, early in the day will be prime time. You may also find reds in big schools on the flats and tarpon may give you another shot as they gorge themselves with glass minnows along the beaches or in Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay. Juvenile tarpon should be plentiful and actively feeding as well during September.
Snook season has reopened, which always brings a lot of pressure on them. September is a hot month, so I prefer to avoid the heat of the day, instead targeting snook before daylight around lighted docks and bridge fenders. The exception to that would be when sight-casting for snook cruising in the surf. Even then, the time frame from about 8 AM or later through noon, will be best in our area due to the angle of the sun.
When fishing lighted docks, white flies and shrimp patterns fished on an intermediate or sink-tip fly line usually work best. Baitfish may be larger during September, so try to see what size baits they are feeding on and “match the hatch”. Jigs and plastic shrimp in similar sizes will also get the job done. Top water plugs and fly poppers cast along seawalls, around docks and sand bars at dawn and dusk can be very exciting and effective. The strong outgoing tides preceding the new and full moons should have great action from late afternoon through dusk. Live baiters should do well with pilchards, pinfish, grunts and live shrimp. Live shrimp seem to be more effective at night and plastic shrimp may work just as well.
September is one of the top months for reds to be schooling on the flats. They will be easier to find when the tide is lower. Look for nervous patches of water or wakes pushing in the shallows. Once you have located a school of reds, they may be found in the same area at the same phase of the tide, which will be later each day. However, they will only tolerate so much pressure and they may retreat to deeper water. I prefer the quiet approach when fishing schooling reds in shallow water. Running an outboard on the flats will only make them spooky and they may leave the flats after being harassed a few times. I use my push pole to approach them and work around the edges of a school rather than cast into the middle of it.
The flats of north Sarasota Bay and Gasparilla sound in Charlotte harbor are my favorite areas to fish for reds in the fall. Top water plugs, jerk worms, fly poppers or baitfish patterns that match the baitfish they may be feeding on are my favorite lures and flies. A gold spoon is also hard to beat. Live baiters will do best with pilchards (white bait), which may be used as chum to hold a school in one spot.
Tarpon may rally up along the beaches for one last feeding frenzy before their journey away from here later in the fall. I have found them gorging themselves on bait balls of glass minnows near Boca Grande Pass and in the coastal gulf off Sarasota. Even though they were feeding on tiny baits, I have caught them with larger plastic baits and flies in this situation. They may also be found in the upper reaches of Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay feeding the same way. Last September, only several weeks after Hurricane Charley, we had a great day fly fishing for tarpon in the gulf off Gasparilla Island. There must have been an acre of tarpon feeding on small baits all over the surface. We jumped and landed several on flies and another boat throwing plastic baits was hooked up constantly!
Juvenile tarpon will be plentiful in the Peace and Myakka Rivers and canal systems in those areas. They will be where the baitfish are and following a lot of rain, they are mostly in the rivers rather than the canals. I look for rolling fish and cast plastic baits that I work slowly along the bottom. When fly fishing, I use a fast sinking fly line and a small bunny fly to get down into the zone where they are feeding. These fish will range from 10 to 30-pounds and are a blast on medium spinning or fly tackle.
Trout will be most active early in the day when you may find big trout in skinny water. Afternoon thundershowers, which will cool the water, may also draw them into shallow water late in the day. Top water plugs or fly poppers and sliders are my top choices when targeting “gator” trout in shallow water. Later in the morning they will drop into deeper water. A live or plastic shrimp under a popping cork or a “clacker” rig may attract trout to your bait when they are deeper.
A “clacker” rig is a Styrofoam float on a piece of wire with several beads and a weight on one end. There are various brands of this rig on the market. I have found it to be very effective, not only for trout but for reds and snook as well. Another advantage of using this rig is that it may make it easier to fish in shallow water. You can use a variety of lures, including jigs, plastic shrimp or live bait under this rig and the sound is what makes the difference. When fish are striking at top water plugs, but missing, the “clacker” rig will usually result in a hook up.
Fish early or late in the day during September for the best success. Like many other months, there will be lots of different options. Redfish and tarpon will be at the top of my list since this is when reds school and maybe our last shot at large tarpon before they start to leave our area. Watch out for afternoon thunderstorms, which may contain deadly lightning.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E mail snookfin@aol.com
Web address www.snookfin-addict.com |
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