2014 September 20th, Web blog.
It was great to take a break and enjoy some down time and now your captain is ready to get back to fishing.
I enjoyed a nice trip to the Plantation at Crystal River for an Florida Outdoor Writers Conference. Great friends and net working opportunity; I ran into many folks I don’t see often enough. We fished some remote salt marshes and got away from it all. Thanks to our Corporate Sponsors I got to check out several new products to improve our catching and fun. Then I escaped to the woods along the Suwannee River, they still have sturgeon up there.
So what can we expect for action now? This is the time to enjoy fishing without the crowds. This is the less pressure time to catch fish and not cook ourselves. Snook, redfish, and trout; our main inshore fish targets are ready to bite. They are all hungry and in season for harvest. This special deal is extra incentive to get out soon. We usually fish them with live minnows. Or you are welcome to fish lures or fly if you choose. The minnows help us make fish more aggressive because I toss em a few freebees. It’s always exciting to actually observe hungry fish feeding. All three are traveling right now so we frequently catch some snook then reds and a few nice trout in the same spots. We can even stop by and have our fish prepared for lunch if you like? The Stump Pass Grille is ready to let us sit back and enjoy your catch with no mess at home.
Big schools of redfish are beginning to shift from Charlotte Harbor out into the Gulf from the Boca Grande and Venice passes. This is a, we can get lucky if we try deal. If you don’t look you can’t get lucky. They usually bunch up best around the big moons but I’ve gotten lucky at unusual times. When we stumble upon a school the sight is awesome and a red hot frenzy.
Spanish Mackerel are already teasing us but will improve next month. These are abundant, fast and fun. The larger kings are due to follow the baitfish migrations into our near shore Venice and Englewood areas any time also. This is the action fishing with liberal bag limits so we have fish to share with family and friends. Both mackerel species are actually under utilized! We are catching enough! If you are not sure you like mackerel please just let me show you how tasty they are when we handle them properly and eat them fresh. I just might share my easy, simple, awesome recipe.
We can usually catch a nice mess of fish but this action can literally get overwhelming because it’s fast and furious. Multiple hooks ups are common and hilarious fishing fun. Here’s the kicker. Sometimes we actually stumble into unbelievable hot action with everything. As the bait minnows are pushed into hard dark colored balls of baitfish scared by hungry striking fish. You can hook into a large variety of species. We have actually had a tarpon, a king mackerel, and a huge redfish on at the same time one trip. Sharks and cobia are regular tackle busters. Tripletail are due soon, stone crab traps go out on the fifth of October to attract them. Stoners open on the 15th.
I was tired after a blessed, busy year so far. I need to break to rest and catch up on everything but fishing. It was wonderful to enjoy time off but our weather is finally starting ever so slightly to cool down. Water temps right now are 86; it was still bouncing at 90 two week ago. Our days are shorter; Tuesday is the Equinox; when day light and dark are equal. Baitfish are still abundant. Fish will begin to feed enthusiastically to store fat for winter. I understand winter sounds crazy to anyone that hasn’t lived here. But it gets much cooler by late November.
The weather control if we can fish out side into the near shore Gulf. The great news is we can almost always safely and comfortably fish inside. So what are you waiting for it’s time to lock in your dates or miss the boat! Thank you and let’s go fishin’ soon! Captain Van Hubbard