Captain's Report - October 2, 2003
by Capt. Dave Mistretta
October is the month we have all been waiting for. Cool fronts start to blanket the entire state, triggering all sorts of action. Water temps drag their way down towards the magical seventies, luring gamefish from deeper waters. Grouper, sharks, cobia, king and Spanish mackerel... the list is endless.
The 15th of this month also starts the season for delicious stone crab claws. Thousands of crab buoys will dot the coastline as commercial crabbers try to locate the pricey claws. You can't ask for a better chum slick to draw in the fish. Fresh mullet and grouper carcasses are baited in traps, saturating the water with oils. Even the ropes and buoys act as a small artificial structure, providing a temporary safe haven for bait. Small schools of pinfish and blue runners cling close to the man made devices, trying to elude the viscous attacks from larger predators. Each day will lure new pushes of the smoker kingfish to us until the invasion is at full force by Halloween. Sharks(which have made a strong appearance this summer) can be found near the chum slicks for a few more weeks, until the cooler weather forces them south. Cobia will also make their final appearance around these same slicks, mostly along the beaches.
Baits schools have already started to bundle up along the shoreline making it an easy task to fill live wells. Threadfin herring, horse minnows and massive schools of pinfish are there for the taking at daylight hours. By monitoring the sonar, anglers can easily load the cast nets. You'll be sure to find plenty of Spanish mackerel ravaging these same bait schools.
Last fall the tarpon bite was as good as it gets for the first two weeks of this month. Glass minnows were balled up along the beaches off Indian Shores, south to Redington beach. We averaged 3 silver kings a day for a two week period. Drifting thru all the tiny bait schools was the key. This month, it looks like the same thing will happen since the bait is abundant along the same beaches. Rig the with Pinfish, threadfin herring and giant pilchards suspended approximately 6 feet from a float.
This is the month for tournament angler to practice. Come November, a few pre-season outings with the beginning of the 2003 fall-king run could put you that much closer to the winners circle. The smokers won't be as soupy thick this month, but there are just enough of to scream off drags at 35mph, knocking off the rust (so to speak). Each push of cool air will send more kings our way from the north. Offshore waters have been quite productive for kingfish the past two falls. Of course the artificial reefs hold good numbers, but there are other alternatives. If the Spanish sardines settle at the fifty foot mark like they have for the past two seasons, there will be plenty of kings to go around for everyone. We have worked a single bait school for days, catching our limit quite easily. You'll normally find the bait actually hiding on the sandy bottom rather than the traditional hard bottom areas. Sardines camouflage themselves by blending in with the lightly colored sand. The kings still find them.
This month can be some of best grouper fishing of the year for both rod and reelers and spear fisherman. You get the best of both worlds if you are dually talented. Drop bait down to the bottom, catch a few, and then ease over the side to shoot the bigger ones. With water temps so tolerable, the day can be maximized with numerous dives in the shallower depths. Each push of cool air not only ushers in schools of kings, but grouper too. Rocks will be replenished with every front, both shallow and deep waters producing. It all depends on how far you feel like driving.
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