Report...October 5, 2007

It’s early October and we’re about two weeks away from wrapping up some of the finest fishing of the year! So if you’ve been waiting to squeeze in a trip for GIANT redfish or tarpon, don’t delay.

To say fishing for GIANT redfish has been “great” would be an understatement. Over the last month, I’ve landed close to 50 redfish over 40 inches, with all weights ranging from 20-50lbs. The average fish has been about 30lbs and the average fight seems to last about 10 minutes.. A regular guest on my boat, Tony Pantuso, caught a true heavyweight …a fish close to 50lbs. This week Connie Longley caught a 30lb red that sported 55 spots, a truly rare fish. It's been relatively easy for everyone on the boat to catch 4 or 5 before we call it a day (or their arms get tired). As we get close to the next full moon, these reds will spawn again and then nearly all of them will slip off into deeper water to prepare for the coming colder weather and water temps. When that happens, we’ll stop fishing these GIANT bulls until early 2008.

The tarpon action will also be the next thing to come to an end. The bite has been pretty good, but these big fish are on the move and heading towards the Atlantic to migrate south. We’re still getting plenty of shots, but the numbers are dwindling. However, they too realize the bait run is underway and it's time to eat, so they are letting their guard down a bit. The average fish we are jumping has been in the 80-100lb range, a thrill on light tackle. We’ve hooked up over 50 fish this year, breaking a goal I had set at the beginning of the season. I would estimate we’ve got about two weeks left before we stop fishing them this year.

Tarpon and GIANT redfish aren’t the only things filling their belly on the fall mullet run. Sharks are in the mix and sometimes it’s impossible to keep them from stealing baits; other times we're trying to catch them. We caught about 20 sharks (black tips, spinners, hammerheads and lemon’s) during the last couple weeks. Also a thrill on light tackle, most fish are ranging from 20-100lbs. Kingfish are also still around, and if we’re slow trolling a live mullet, we’re catching a couple of those here and there.

We haven’t been spending much time on slot redfish and speckled trout lately because of all the other action, but when we do fish for them, it’s been really good. Topwaters, soft plastics and live finger mullet have accounted for 5-10 slot reds each time. The water is high and sight fishing has been a little tough lately, but as it get’s cooler and the water levels come back down, these two will dominate the winter fishing scene. Some of the year’s best sight fishing takes place during the winter months, with schools of hundreds of redfish and trout a common place. Congratulations to my son, catching his second monster trophy trout in the last two years, quite the accomplishment for a 7-year old!

I've got openings left throughout the remainder of this month. Give me a call to book a spot today! 386-212-4931