The cold front did just what outdoor lovers needed. It ended the record heat and brought temperatures to normal levels. So this should be one of the better weeks to venture outside.
The cool air got the trout going; just in time for that unnecessary harvest closure. Grouper moved closer to shore. Snook are now as far up river as the I-75 Bridge. Redfish are starting to perk up. Meanwhile, plenty of Spanish mackerel and kingfish are still massed in Tampa Bay and are moving back to the nearshore Gulf with the cooling seas.
The catch of the week has to go to Captain Scott Greer out of Cortez Fishing Center. Greer’s party was doing well with large gag grouper before a rare sailfish crashed the party. This is the last in a triad of bluewater gamesters that have graced these shores in the last month. Earlier unseasonable catches of blackfin tuna and wahoo surprised offshore anglers. Greer’s sail indicates this was no fluke.
Such bluewater gamesters are most common off the Gulf Coast in May, but the fall migration of kingfish, Spanish mackerel, bonito and sharks drive hordes of bait to shore and that often means a bonus catch of some bluewater species. If you venture offshore keep an eye out. The last year was marked by more whale beachings and sightings in history. Something’s happening out there and it will pay to stay on your toes.
Perhaps because of the record heat only a paltry 11 deer and 15 feral hogs were taken during the two bow hunts at Duette Park. That bright moon last weekend will have waned and the weather chilled off for the first Duette muzzleloader hunt this weekend (11-7-8).
At press time hunts were still available and this might be best hunt of the season. The next muzzleloader hunt looks like it will fall near the full moon; notoriously poor hunting.
Call the Duette Preserve at (941) 776-2295 for more information.
Dave Sork of the Anna Maria City Pier had a great report. Dave said hundreds of flounder were caught on Sunday with more showing the next day. Such a flounder catch is historic and could mark a good fall for the tasty flatfish. Dave also said a tarpon was seen; another unseasonable fish.
Richard Leitz of the south Skyway Bridge fishing pier reports limits of Spanish mackerel are easy there. Some mangrove snapper are also biting.
From Dry Dock Marina in New Pass Captain Johnnie Walker said kings and Spanish mackerel were thick on the nearshore artificial reefs in the Gulf. Johnnie has been also catching plenty of mackerel and bluefish inside Sarasota Bay.
Walker’s best report concerned a freshwater trip to the Upper Myakka Lake where he caught huge bluegill. But Johnnie said the lake was way down; barely navigable, as most Florida freshwater bodies are. There wasn’t enough rain last summer to allow anglers into most inland lakes.
Best bets will continue to be kings and mackerel in the bays and nearshore Gulf.
G.B. Knowles, outdoors writer, can be reached at (941) 730-3234 or gb_knowles@yahoo.com.
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