Coastal Angler Magazine | October 2023 | Treasure Coast Edition

Watauga River

Home of world class fishing on the beautiful Watauga Lake, rugged Doe River and designated trophy trout stream, Watauga River PLAN

Watauga Lake

Doe River

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By Capt. Michael Okruhlik

AN

GAME PLAN FOR

ARTIFICIALS INSHORE

October is one of my favorite months to fish, and the dwindling traffic on the bays is just a small reason why. September may have been a record hot month for a lot of us, but the transition of the seasons is more than just the temperature for wildlife. The length of the days play a big part in the fish transitions for the season. Although October opens several new opportunities for anglers, I am going to give you an insight as to how I plan to catch them.

The marsh should be full of life and hold an

abundant amount of the big three: trout, redfish and flounder. It will not be uncommon to find all three in the same location gorging themselves on last spring’s hatch of shrimp and finfish. I will predominantly throw smaller soft plastics in the 3.25-inch size. I like a durable lure because the action can be fast and furious, and I don’t want to waste time changing out lures after one or two fish and miss my opportunity for more. I lean toward paddletails because I can work them faster, cover more water, and the added

vibration will draw strikes since these fish will be aggressive. The cover type and water depth will determine if I rig them weedless or on a jig head. Either method is acceptable, just adapt to the structure.

I prefer to fish outgoing tides in these areas. Generally, an outgoing tide produces a better bite and concentrates fish in smaller areas where I can target them. These pinch points can be mouths of drains, bayous, pinch points within a bayou or a bend. Those are the more obvious ones, but don’t overlook points extending into a bay or cuts through a reef. The points of islands or reefs can also increase the flow of current congregating the fish in an area.

Here are some retrieves I like to use for each of these three species in October. Keep in mind none of the fish read this article, so you will catch others on these retrieves. In general, reds will hit a lure on a steady retrieve, trout like the erratic twitch-twitch, and flounder react well to my lure darting along the bottom. When darting my lure along the bottom, I hold my rod tip down or sideways to the water and give it firm twitches. I make sure to keep my lure on the bottom and not bouncing it up and down like I would for trout. I want to disturb the bottom to get their attention.

As we all know, all fish will eat any retrieve, but if you are not catching the species you want, try a different action before you change the lure. Enjoy the cooler weather and take a kid fishing, I know I will do both!

Capt. Michael Okruhlik is the inventor of Knockin Tail Lures®, and the owner of www.MyCoastOutdoors.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KNOCKIN TAIL LURES®

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Jetty Fishing:

TIPS ON BECOMING A ROCK JOCKEY

The presence of life was obvious long before we reached the jetty. On an outgoing tide, dingy water rushed through the channel cut from the bay to the ocean. It flushed with a brown plume that carried the detritus of marsh decay.

Diving birds were the first sign we were in the right place at the right time. As we got closer, other anglers came into view. There were a couple of boats jockeying for position off the end of the jetty, another trolled the rip farther offshore, and the beach brigade was set up fishing that corner pocket where current flowing down the shore piled up against the rocks.

Pods of pogies flickered and darted, harassed by gulls from above and by redfish, trout, small sharks and who knows what else from below. Blue crabs skittered around doing cleanup duty just outside a light surf.

With all this life, catching fish shouldn’t be a problem, right? Well, if you talk to any veteran of

By Nick Carter

the rocks, they’ll tell you putting in the time to learn a particular jetty is the key to success. Every jetty has its own peculiarities, its best times and tides, its hidden holes and mixing currents.

Here are a few tips to help flatten the learning curve at a new jetty.

1) Start in the Rocks: The food chain of a jetty is created by the stuff pushed against the rocks. The rocks also create current breaks and hidey holes where predators lay in ambush for baitfish, shrimp and crabs that feed on the buildup of organic matter. Start your search close to the rocks. Work quickly but meticulously to pick a jetty apart. You can’t see everything that’s going on under the surface, but with experience, the sweet spots will become evident.

2) Make Friends with the Old Guy: In the scenario above, it was our first time to this jetty, and we went straight in with a cast net to scoop up pogies. It seemed obvious to match the hatch, and we caught some fish… mostly stingrays

and catfish. As we clambered all over the jetty in search of the magic combination of factors to produce a more exciting catch, an old man posted up in a beach chair came tight with an enormous bull red. After helping him land the fish and jawing with him a while, he gave up a secret. He’d been fishing the jetty for years, and big reds and tarpon at this spot are suckers for half a fresh blue crab fished on the bottom. Because jetties draw anglers as well as fish, being friendly or just watching can lead to solid local knowledge.

3) Find the Current Seams: Fish where fast and slack current meet. Predators hang in the slack and wait as a conveyer belt of food is swept past them. Conversely, baitfish also seek refuge and stack up where there is current shade. Either situation makes these areas high probability targets for anglers.

For more fishing tips, go to coastalanglermag.com.

PHOTO CREDIT: WAYNE CROSS

PHOTO CREDIT: DON SHETTERLY

PHOTO CREDIT: SHANE TROTTIER

GAR CAUGHT ON 6-LB. TEST!

A283-pound alligator gar caught at Sam Rayburn Lake in Texas is set to break a 72-year-old IGFA alltackle world record. Here’s the kicker: It was landed with 6-pound-test line!

Kentucky angler Art Weston teamed up with Texas Capt. Kirk Kirkland on Sept. 2, in search of lineclass records. Weston is an IGFA record breaker who already has numerous lineclass records for alligator gar and other species. It was the first day of a week-long booking aboard Capt. Kirkland’s The Garfish Enterprise, and they hooked and landed what Kirkland called “the Holy Grail of the fishing world.”

Sam Rayburn Lake is the largest reservoir in Texas at 114,000 acres. It’s an impoundment of the Angelina River near the Louisiana border north of Jasper, Texas. According to a report on FoxWeather.com, Kirkland told Weston of an area on the lake with a sandy, snag-free bottom that would suit light line tactics well. The guide also told Weston there might not be many fish in the area, but they were obviously going for quality over quantity.

Before the pending world record showed up on the scene, the pair caught two other monster alligator gar, including a 169-pounder. When they came tight with the

largest alligator gar caught in nearly three-quarters of a century, it took about three hours, remarkable skill and more than a little bit of luck to land the fish on such light line.

“Lots of blood, sweat and tears (and broken line) went into this achievement,” Kirkland wrote on Facebook. “Angler and world record Chaser Art Weston and I did what no other alligator gar angler has been able to accomplish in 72 years.... catch a fish bigger than the all-tackle world record set so many years ago on the bank of the Rio Grande River.”

The existing all-tackle world record weighed 279 pounds. It was caught by Bill Valverde from the Rio Grande in 1951.

“We both had a look of shock when the scale just kept going higher and higher,” Kirkland said. The gar weighed 283 pounds on camera. It measured 100 inches long, with a 48-inch girth. After taking measurements, the giant fish was released alive.

To read the entire FoxWeather report, go to https://www.foxweather.com/lifestyle/world-recordalligator-gar-texas-sam-rayburn-lake

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By Emily Hanzlik

Emily Hanzlik shows one of her more recent records, a 23-pound longnose gar caught on 8-pound test.

area? Living in Florida, I knew bow n were available to me, so that’s where I started. On the IGFA website, you can search speci c species and see the current records for di erent categories. Here you’ll see the all-tackle, alltackle length, conventional female and male, y male and female, junior male and female, and smallfry categories.

For the junior category, you must be 16 or younger. However, if you are a junior you can submit a record for the adult category. All-tackle length is a newer division that requires a special measuring device from the IGFA, so keep that in mind if you want to try for a length record.

Read the rules regarding the category you are shing for. I cannot stress this enough. Many simple mistakes happen, and it is not worth having a record rejected. e rules are in the record book and on the website. IGFA rules can be complicated and include restrictions on things like the lengths of leaders. Your record quest will be much less frustrating if you know the rules and sh accordingly.

Let’s discuss tools you’ll need to record records. I prefer the Rapala Mini 50-lb. scale, which needs to be certi ed. e easiest way to certify your scale is to ship it to IGFA. ey will certify it for you.

LEARNING TO

Break RECORDS

Some people sh for the meat, in tournaments, or simply for fun. I take a di erent approach. I seek out world records.

e International Game Fish Association (IGFA) keeps track of every record ever caught on rod and reel. I’ve been tracking down these records for more than six years, and here’s a little insight into the process.

First, you need a starting place. What species can you target in your

Most IGFA records are line-class records, which means you’ll o en be shing light lines, and the line must be approved by IGFA, meaning it breaks at the speci c pound test. I like Ande tournament line because it breaks at the correct poundage.

Once all your ducks are in a row, you can target the sh you’ve planned for. is is going to take a lot of time and patience, but eventually putting in time pays o . When you eventually catch a sh that looks big enough to break the current record, there are steps you must take. For the all-tackle length record, you need a photo of the sh on the IGFA measuring device and a photo of the angler with the sh and rod. For the other records, you need photos of the girth, length, weight, and the sh and angler.

e main thing to remember is to have patience and enjoy the process. Breaking records isn’t easy, so just keep trying!

Emily Rose Hanzlik holds over 60 IGFA world records in various categories. She hails from West Palm Beach, where she has a part time Bow n Guide Service as well as shing classes for Jr. Anglers. Find her @emilyhanzlikoutdoors.

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A SINGLE TEAM STICKS 648 LIONFISH AT TWO-DAY DERBY

Divers put a hurting on invasive lion sh on Sept. 8 and 9 at the 14th annual REEF Florida Keys Lion sh Derby. A record 1,898 lion sh were collected, and a single team set another tournament record by bringing 648 of the nasty critters back to the docks.

Team Forever Young, led by Capt. Tony Young, of Forever Young Spear shing, really put in the work and won the “Most Lion sh” division of the tourney. With team members Jason Vogan, Billy Moscatello and Luke Rankin, this is the third time Forever Young has set a new tournament record for total catch.

Overall, 22 teams of divers competed at the event, and $7,000 in cash and prizes were awarded to teams that brought in the most, largest and smallest lion sh. e “Most Lion sh” category included the competitive Apex Predators division and the Reef Defenders division for casual lion sh hunters. Forever Young obviously won the Apex Predators division. Volitans nished second with 291 lion sh, and Team Trash placed third with 101 lion sh.

In the Reef Defenders division, Men of Science won rst place with 156 lion sh. Sea Venom Creations brought in 128 lion sh for second place, Barnacles won third place with 121 lion sh.

Competition was close in the largest and smallest lion sh categories. Barnacles won rst place in the “Largest Lion sh” category with a 16.85inch lion sh. Men of Science’s second place sh measured 16.57 inches, and Forever Young took third with a 16.34-inch sh.

e smallest sh of the derby was 2.36 inches and was collected live by ZooKeeper. Team Will 2 Spear won second place with a 2.83-incher, and Tequila Little Time brought in a 2.99-inch sh, also live, to take third. e two live lion sh will be part of an educational exhibit at the REEF Campus.

In case you been under a rock, lion sh are native to the Indo-Paci c and are highly invasive and detrimental to native marine life on our coasts. Events like REEF’s derbies are held all along the Florida coast to both raise awareness of the problem and to cut down on lion sh numbers.

“Lion sh derbies show how a community can come together to support ocean conservation while combating invasive species. It’s so exciting that our teams set a new Florida Keys record of 1,898 invasive lion sh removed. We are very thankful to all of the derby participants, event volunteers, and everyone who attended and helped make the Florida Keys Lion sh Derby & Festival such a great success,” said Alli Candelmo, Ph.D., REEF Conservation Science Manager.

For more information about REEF Lion sh Derbies, visit www.REEF.org/lion sh-derbies.

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ing FOR A CAUSE

By Capt. Quinlyn Haddon

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Fishing for charitable causes has become a growing venue for bringing together our love of the sport and helping those in need.

e duality of empowerment and peace that shing brings helps people who have struggled. From easing post-traumatic stress disorder, recovering from physical trauma, mental and social disorders, to helping troubled youths nd redirection, shing can easily be classi ed as therapeutic. No matter what cause is important to you, there is likely a shing tournament dedicated to it.

Fishing tournaments have been put together by donations solely to get certain groups on the water to participate, such as events for veterans and

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pediatric cancer patients. ese events create incredible opportunities for people who truly need them, and they are a great way to donate and help share the therapeutic power of shing.

e other style of charitable shing tournaments are ones you can participate in yourself, and proudly take a minor hit on your winning payout, knowing you are donating to a good cause. While the rst type is extremely sel ess and noble, let’s face it, everybody needs a little shing therapy in their life. O en, the shing tournaments where you participate provide opportunities to people a ected by the cause, and you will be joined by the people you are there helping, as well. is is easily one of the best excuses to sh, and way more fun than simply signing a check.

In honor of breast cancer awareness month, the ladies of the world would like to o cially turn your attention to the boobies. at’s right, you’re invited to look.

Breast cancer a ects one in eight women. Although this type of cancer is rare in men, it has a higher mortality rate due to late detection, and that is a part of the awareness this month is dedicated to.

ankfully, with advancements in awareness and detection, survivability of this diagnosis has increased exponentially. Many survivors turn to shing for recovery, both physically and emotionally.

If you nd yourself in Pompano Beach Oct. 5-7, e Pink Ladies Breast Cancer Foundation invites you to sh their multi-species, 2nd Annual Cureament shing tournament. Founder, and cancer survivor, Carolyn Stash, has put together a non-pro t tournament for breast cancer awareness and fundraising for a cure. She has worked her ta-tas o to attract sponsors and has put together exciting prizes and ra e items for this year’s tournament. Among the list is a one-of-a-kind, pink, 9-foot Reef Runner, with a trailer and a 9hp motor, and shing charters, including one from yours truly, at Sweet E’nuf Charters out of Marathon, Florida Keys.

Fish alongside erce breast cancer survivors and their dedicated supporters. If you miss this year, mark your calendars for next year. Contact Carolyn Stash at (954) 465-3743 and visit their website at www.pinkladiesbreastcancerfoundation.org to get involved.

Call Capt. Quinlyn Haddon, of Sweet E’nuf Charters, Marathon, Florida Keys at (504) 920-6342.

GATOR HUNTERS

BAG 900-POUNDER

A900-pound, 13-foot-long alligator caught on Aug. 25 might be the second largest gator in Florida history, and it’s by far the largest gator we’ve heard about so far this alligator season.

Capt. Kevin Brotz, of Get Bit Outdoors, guided clients Carson Gore and Darren Field to the giant gator on an Orlando area lake, according to Outdoor Life. It took close to four hours to subdue the beast.

“Honestly, my rst concern was safety, because we were in a smaller boat, and then you add a gator whose head is this big,” Brotz said as he spread his arms wide in a CNN video interview. “All he has to do is turn, and we’re in trouble.”

“I laid down in the front of the boat and said I have to lay down until we get back,” Gore told CNN. “I thought I was going to die. at thing was huge.” At one point during the battle, the gator leapt 3 or 4 feet out of the water right next to the boat. Brotz told Outdoor Life it was like being eye-to-eye with a T-Rex.

e statewide alligator season runs Aug. 15- Nov. 1. Hunters are required to apply for and obtain a limited entry permits each season. For information go to MyFWC.com.

Watch video of the team ghting the gator on Field & Stream’s YouTube channel.

By Ed Killer

Snook, the most popular inshore gamefish swimming in South Florida waters, may soon see a change in regulations. And if these changes are approved, possibly as early as Oct. 3-4 at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s next meeting in Stuart, some anglers will not be happy.

Proposed changes were discussed in a virtual workshop Sept. 7. They included:

• Making snook catch-andrelease in the Tampa Bay region beginning 2024

• Adding September to the closed season for the Southwest region

• Reducing the bag limit to two per vessel statewide

Anglers who like to take their bag limit of snook home for dinner are not happy. It also flies in the face of those who are supposedly supporting the resource.

Let’s use my family for instance. Say my three sons, my uncle and I go out on my uncle’s boat to snook fish. We’ve all had to pay $17 each for a saltwater fishing license, plus another $10 each for the required snook stamp to harvest one snook per day during the open harvest seasons only and only if the fish is no shorter than 28 inches or longer than 32 inches.

We’re all ok with that. Technically, under the current regulations, we could return home from a snook fishing trip with five fish. I’ll admit,

since a 28-inch snook can weigh 6-to-8 pounds each, that’s a lot of fish.

But as I said, we are helping support snook research and resource management with our $27 each and $135 annually as a group. Under the proposed regulations, three of us would return emptyhanded. That’s insane.

The research we all help support tells us that the snook population in the eastern Florida region is doing well. One measure FWC uses is called spawning potential ratio. It’s a fancy word meaning how many snook are in the fishery that can reproduce.

The standards the FWC set go like this: 20% is where the snook fishery can sustain itself; 40% is the “safety line” the FWC created for itself 25 years ago; 52-54% is where snook is at as I write this.

So, since snook are fine, why is the state trying to reduce harvest? They say it’s because of a combination of environmental, habitat and human factors, and their impact on the snook stock. Here’s a suggestion - do something about those.

I know it’s unsustainable for Florida to grow at a rate of 1,000 new residents a day and expect our natural resources to not be impacted. Maybe it’s time for a resident bag limit vs. visitor bag limit. Grandfather in residents who can prove the length of time they have lived in Florida.

I’m not sure what the answers are, but get your hands off my snook.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kelsey Killer.

Conrad Killer with a St. Lucie River snook he caught in 2022.

Check the St. Lucie Railroad Drawbridge App for Real-Time Schedule Info

The St. Lucie River railroad drawbridge schedule, including construction alerts, is available on the new St. Lucie Bridge Schedule App and Website for mariners that was recently launched by Brightline and Florida East Coast Railway (FECR). The technology communicates real-time schedule information providing the community with predictability and reliability of bridge openings. To download the bridge app, search for “Bridge Schedule” in the Apple and Android app stores or visit http://www.bridgeschedule.com/.

In addition to the bridge app and website, Brightline and FECR installed variable message signs on each side of the bridge, which are interconnected to the railroad signal system. The signs display a countdown to each bridge closure and opening. Brightline also recently constructed a bridge monitor house, and a bridge monitor is located on site between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. every day. The bridge monitor is the main point of contact for daily waterway usage and can be reached via VHF Channel 9 or by phone at (772) 403-1005.

Brightline will continue to communicate information to the public through a variety of additional channels including Twitter, the Brightline website and via Brightline’s text alert system, text: “STL” to 888-384-0037 to sign up for text alerts.

FORECASTS

LAKE OKEECHOBEE

Capt. Nate Shellen

Shellen Guide Service

Okeechobee Bass Fishing Guides/Charters

(863) 357-0892

sjmike7@aol.com

OkeechobeeBassFishing.com

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water and locating active fish. These lures can mimic wounded baitfish and trigger strikes. Jigging with a variety of jigs, including football jigs, flipping jigs, and swim jigs, can be a successful technique for bass fishing, particularly around submerged vegetation and structure.

As October progresses, the cooling water temperatures encourage fish to become more active. This can lead to improved feeding activity, especially as fish prepare for the upcoming winter. Keep an eye on weather patterns, as fronts moving through the area can trigger increased fish activity.

Capt. Gus Brugger

Capt. Rocky Carbia

Capt. Jonathan Earhart

Capt. Scott Fawcett

October

brings changes to the fishing scene at Lake Okeechobee, Florida. As the weather begins to cool down, anglers can expect shifts in fish behavior and fishing strategies.

Water levels in Lake Okeechobee during October typically start to stabilize after the rainy season, but they can still be influenced by local rainfall and water management practices. As the water levels continue to drop, more underwater structures and vegetation become accessible, providing excellent opportunities for anglers.

In October, artificial lures remain a popular choice for anglers

targeting various species in the lake. Early mornings and late afternoons are prime times for using topwater lures like buzzbaits, poppers, and frogs. These lures mimic prey on the water’s surface and can entice explosive strikes from largemouth bass. As the day progresses and temperatures rise, transitioning to soft plastic baits like worms, creature baits, and swimbaits can be effective. Rigging these baits Texas or Carolina style and working them along dropoffs and structure can yield success. Crankbaits and spinnerbaits can be productive choices for covering

Safety precautions remain crucial, even as the weather cools. Be prepared for changes in weather conditions and dress appropriately. Always adhere to local fishing regulations and guidelines to help conserve the lake’s fishery.

In summary, October on Lake Okeechobee offers a dynamic fishing experience. Anglers can continue to use a variety of artificial lures to target different species, with a focus on adjusting techniques based on the time of day and fish behavior. As the water levels stabilize and the temperatures drop, this month presents excellent opportunities for memorable catches in this renowned fishing destination.

Capt. Scotty Gold

Ed Killer

Capt. Michael Mauri Brian Nelli

Jim Oppenborn

Capt. Bo Samuel

Chris Beachwalker Sharp

Capt. Nate Shellen

Capt. Adam White

Capt. Terry Wildey

Steve Cishek and his two girls, Emmy and Avery, caught a ton of nice bass this week!

PHOTO CREDIT: Capt. Nate Shellen.

Capt. Scott Fawcett

Off the Chain Fishing Charters

(772) 285-1055

offthechainfishing.com

fishscottyf@bellsouth.net

There’smore to look forward to than just ghosts and goblins this October. As the leaves change color to the north and the birds migrate south, the Treasure Coast comes to life. Coming off Florida’s hottest summer since we’ve been recording it, most everything pushed to the north the last few months. Now the temperatures have cooled a little, the teal have pushed through, the mullet run was right on time, and I have big hopes for what’s to come this fall.

The Carolina’s saw some of the best billfish action they’ve seen in 10 years this past late summer and with every northerly breeze the fish should be pushed down the coast towards us. All we must hope for now is that the bait that’s been here all summer sticks around, so the fish

stop when they get here. This time of year we troll a lot more than we do in the summer. Mullet or ballyhoo dredges, small naked ballyhoo rigged on circle hooks, a squid chain and sometimes a down bait for wahoo will give them all the options they need to provide good action for you all day long. Sailfish, dolphin, kingfish, bonito, wahoo and blackfin will be pushing down the reef line and current edges this month and presenting your baits between 4-to-6 kts in an up sea, down sea pattern, along color changes, temperature breaks and structure will get you the bites. I recommend Blackfin trolling rods spooled with 15-to-30pound test, a 50-to-60-pound wind on leader and a shorter 50-to-60-pound main leader. Small ballyhoo rigged on 6/0 and 7/0 circle hooks with a small chin weight to keep them paddling and get them to sink while in a turn or prospecting will help put fish in the boat and flags on your riggers.

A good pair of sunglasses is always key. This time of year, a lot of fish will follow your teasers or bait and not commit to it. We all use

Costa Del Mar with their 580 lenses in various shades. These great glasses make it so we are able to see lazy fish hanging deep on a teaser, or surfing down a wave long before they bite. These increase hook up ratio, along with helping to get finicky fish to eat that typically wouldn’t.

On larger sportfish boats, I prefer

pulling my dredges off of my outriggers, but on center consoles it’s way better to use a boom or a downrigger. We use Cannon 10 TS downriggers which will prospect our dredges back-and-forth all day long if we want, also have an auto deploy and an auto retrieve setting and make fishing a dredge extremely easy compared to all the other options.

Our Rupp outriggers are rigged with multiple pulleys, various clips, swivels and Hal Locks and fresh line to make bait changes easy and improve hookup ratios. We also use the month of October to go over the whole boat and tackle to make sure it’s in top working order for the upcoming season.

White’s Tackle with four locations from Vero to Jupiter has everything we need to replace all the things that go bad over time and get used up on a daily basis along with all the new things I didn’t even know I needed.

Whatever style of fishing you decide to do this October I wish you the best of luck and I hope your next trip is Off The Chain.

One of two sails on a morning half. Congratulations to Clay and Jules for each releasing their first sails!

PHOTO CREDIT: Capt. Scott Fawcett/Off The Chain Charters.

Capt. Jonathan Earhart

Chaos Fishing Charters

(772) 341 – 2274

www.chaosfishigcharters.com

jon@chaosfishigncharters.com

using a 60-to-80-pound leader with 6-9/0 circle hooks. Bigger tarpon can be found cruising near local inlets, deeper channel edges, and around local bridges. Soaking mullets for extended periods of time if you want to get the bites from larger tarpon is to be expected.

October

inshore fishing can be some of the season’s last best opportunities for large inshore game fish. Mullet run typically lasts until the end of the month so take advantage while the bait is plentiful, and the predatory fish are actively feeding on mullet.

Fishing finger mullet around the structure will get the bites from snook, jacks, seatrout, redfish, and juvenile tarpon. Typically, I suggest using a 40-pound leader with a 2-4/0 circle hook for small to medium finger mullet. If you plan on targeting larger snook, tarpon, jacks with larger mullet, I suggest

MARTIN COUNTY DEEP SEA

Capt. Rocky Carbia

Safari I Deep Sea Fishing

Pirates Cove Resort and Marina

4307 SE Bayview St. Port Salerno

Reservations: (772) 334-4411 Safari-1.com

The seasonal dynamics of October will energize the near coastal ecosystem. The forces of nature will combine this month in the form of substantial masses of bait fish that shall heed the call to migrate to and through our nearshore waters. Pelagic and resident fish species will tow behind the influx of these huge masses of bait and track them to our offshore doorstep. Provided that an offshore weather window is user friendly, the anglers of Martin County will be able to intersect a wide variety of saltwater species throughout the water column.

King and Spanish mackerel along with other top water species can be found in better numbers this month as they circle up schools of live bait along current edges, temperature contours, and over top of reef structures. Solid populations of snapper will populate the deeper footprint of these reef areas as several species will continue spawning sessions this month.

Bottom fishing with live shrimp has been working well for sheepshead, snapper, flounder, black drum, and the occasional redfish. Again, fishing near or around bottom structure will produce the bites.

Nearshore fishing has been great for Spanish mackerel along the beach near Peck Lake. Look for the large gathering of boats and more than likely the mackerel will be there. Casting flashy jigs will get plenty of bites. Remember to jig and reel. The faster you reel, the faster you will get a bite! Expect some bluefish, jack crevalle, ladyfish, and even the random cobia mixed in while targeting Spanish mackerel.

Nearshore reefs and wrecks have been holding some snapper, kingfish, barracuda, sharks, and a

few cobia. Chicken rigs with cut bait will produce snapper bites. Live or dead surface baits will yield a variety

of predators while fishing on anchor for snapper. Tight lines!

seen swimming along with turtles, manta rays, and sharks. Be jig ready for spontaneous interactions with hungry cobes.

Large gag and red grouper will also avail themselves during these days as they sit on their bottom dwelling thrones and challenge athletically inclined anglers to extract them from their underwater kingdoms.

Also, the potential for tropical weather systems will be a wild card game changer for overall fishing this month, as these low-pressure systems interact with our offshore playing field. Increased activity in the tropics (over the last few weeks) will likely persist and garner attention. With this in mind, keep your fingers crossed, knots tied tight, and pray for red skies at night.

Mutton snapper will congregate in increased numbers over the weeks, along reef lines from 50 to 90 feet (Mutton snapper must be 18-inches in overall length to be a “keeper”. Check state and federal regulations by downloading the FishRules App at https://fishrulesapp.com/ for your mobile device).

Other members of the snapper family will be found alongside their mutton cousins. Lane, vermilion, and mangrove snapper will inhabit similar reef zones and help to color the fish boxes of October.

Cobia sightings will not be uncommon this month and will be

For Reservations Call (772) 334-4411

Located at Pirates Cove Resort and Marina 4307 SE Bayview St. Port Salerno/Stuart, FL

TRIP TIMES

Sue Bickerstaff with a large October redfish caught using a dead mullet head on the bottom with a 2-ounce weight on a fish finder rig with a 6/0 BKK circle hook.

PHOTO CREDIT: Capt. Jonathan Earhart.

PHOTO CREDIT: Safari 1.

Snapper and grouper will paint the fish boxes of October with much color.

ST. LUCIE COUNTY OFFSHORE

Capt. Bo Samuel

Pullin Drag Charters

(772) 971-6661

facebook.com/Pullin-Drag-Charters

catainbofishing@gmail.com

Windy days and passing hurricanes have made offshore fishing a little challenging so here’s hoping for a much calmer October. With the arrival of fall, we can eventually expect some cooler waters and cooler weather but fortunately, fishing on the Treasure Coast remains hot! With the mullet run in full swing, we are seeing amazing action and hungry, aggressive fish.

Snook and tarpon will be relying heavily on mullet meals as they move across our area. Casting your own live mullet gives a great opportunity to hook up on a personal best. There is no better time to fill the livewell and target some of the highly prized trophy fish that Fort Pierce is known

for. We also keep an eye out for the fall mahi migration when the mahi start heading south to warmer waters and big ones are in the mix. Dolphin are the fastest growing fish in the ocean so the peanuts of summer can now be 10-to-15 pounds. Trolling live or dead mullet is a proven method to bring home mahi for dinner, but naked or skirted ballyhoo will get the job done, too.

Mutton and mangrove snapper are still being caught on the offshore reefs in 50-to-100 feet and some of the recent mangroves have been photo worthy fish. I recommend using a chum bag and throwing some cut bait behind the boat to stir up these energetic feeders. Effective chumming can encourage the big ones to move closer to the boat. Use enough weight to keep your bait on the bottom and be prepared for a battle. Night fishing for mangroves is a great option to consider as they are especially active during a full moon.

October also means Halloween is coming so here’s wishing everyone a scary good month catching wicked monster fish! Hope to see you haunting my home base of Little Jim Bait & Tackle where the new food menu is bloody fantastic. Take a kid fishing...it’s nothing but treats when they’re Pullin Drag!

Blake Jacobson, Sharp Eye Marine Detailing, holding a pair of stud mangos on a recent trip.

PHOTO CREDIT: Capt. Bo Samuel.

Capt. Adam White

St. Lucie Flats Fishing Charters (609) 820-6257

www.stlucieflatsfishing.com

Fallhas arrived on the Treasure Coast. October provides great weather and hungry fish. The mullet showed up a little early this year and September was a fantastic month. It has been an extremely hot summer, and I’m sure we all are looking forward to the days to start to cool off. With the days getting shorter we should start seeing the water temperatures slowly drop as we transition through the fall. October is a good transition month that provides several opportunities to have a good day on the water.

Tarpon are one of my favorite targets throughout this month. When conditions allow, running the beach

Capt. Scotty Gold

Miss Fort Pierce Fishing (772) 766-0191 fortpiercefishing.com

AsOctober is upon us, the temperature is slowly falling to a more comfortable period. As the ocean water temperature starts to cool once again, our fishery changes will continue to catch large mangroves on the 60-to-105-foot depth on cut bait cigar minnows sardines and variety of other coastal live small fish continue to fish with a long liter from 10 to 30 feet. Be patient and wait for success.

The lane snappers, porgies, and triggerfish will start to school up on the pieces of high bottom. This

and finding the mullet schools is a great way to locate the fish. They’re fairly easy to spot between the birds diving, and the fish cartwheeling through them. Rig your live mullet on a 5/0-8/0 circle, 60-to-80-pound leader, with 30-to-50 pound braid. Pitch them on the outsides of the school and hold on! I like using 7-foot to 7-foot, 6-inch heavy action

is a deadly time of year to fish with chicken rigs, rigged with cut square grunt strips, pieces of ballyhoo and bonito strips. Don’t be afraid to fish with light tackle when the current permits, it is a lot of fun.

One thing we must remember in October is the risk of storms although they may not target us directly. The offshore storms tend to send a big ground swell, which disturbs the bottom. Wait several days after the fronts come by for the water to clear up.

The Miss Fort Pierce will continue to sail seven days a week and will do our work on the boat in between. We will maintain our all-day schedule departing at 7 a.m. with a fully aiconditioned cabin with our never crowding policy.

For information or reservations, visit www.fortpiercefishing.com and happy fishing.

rods with 8000 size reels when fishing for tarpon. On smaller fish those setups may be a bit overkill, but you can’t predict when the fish of your life may eat your bait, and you want to be able to land it in a reasonable time.

Snook will be around in good numbers this month as well. Live mullet, croakers, and pinfish are all great live baits when targeting snook.

Pitching baits on the up current side of the structure you’re fishing and letting it work its way back is a good way to entice a lurking snook to eat during the day. Working mangrove points with lures at first light is another to target snook. Look for points that still have good mullet schools working through the area. Topwaters and weedless swimbaits will provide plenty of action. Rebel Jumpin minnows, Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencils, Z-Man Diesel Minnows, and four-inch D.O.A. C.A.L.s are great baits to use for pre-dawn snook action.

Look for some sheepshead, black drum and snapper to be moving in around the bridges, docks and channel edges. The surf will be alive with jacks, snook, bluefish and other predators, which will all be chasing the bait schools along the beach. Croakers and whiting will also be hanging along the beaches. It’s another great month to fish along the Treasure Coast!

PHOTO CREDIT: Capt. Adam White.

Mac with a nice snook that ate a live pinfish.

PHOTO CREDIT: Miss Fort Pierce Fishing.

TheIndian River Lagoon is yielding snook and trout regularly, but finding a redfish to round out an inshore slam continues to be challenging. The inlet has been hot and cold but anglers fishing pigfish and croakers are catching snook of all sizes and releasing some oversized redfish. Big snook and tarpon are following the schools of mullet within casting distance of the beach, and surf anglers using everything from live bait to fly rods have been hooking up. October should improve the inshore fishing while the inlet and ocean options should remain strong, weather permitting.

SEBASTIAN RIVER – Sebastian

River fishing will ramp up when schools of finger mullet make their

way into the estuary. Casting live finger mullet in front of rolling tarpon is a surefire way to get tarpon hook ups in the fall. If you prefer artificials, suspending plugs like the MirrOdine and Catch 2000 Jr will do the trick. Fly rodders should also throw finger mullet imitations on floating and intermediate lines. Snook will set up ambushes for passing mullet around the bridges, docks, and oyster bars.

INDIAN RIVER LAGOON – The flats and backwaters of the central

lagoon should be at their best in October. Find the bait and find the fish is a general rule that is especially true in October. Fishing topwater plugs can be a productive and exciting option all day if you find bait schools on the flats. Super Spook Jr. and Top Dog Jr. plugs in mullet or bone colors are great choices to throw around mullet schools milling on the shallow flats. Jack crevalle, ladyfish and bluefish will keep anglers busy between trout and redfish bites. The occasional snook will surprise anglers on the

open flats around baitfish schools, but most of the inshore snook will be setting up ambushes along mangrove shorelines and around docks. D.O.A. Shrimp and Jerk Baits fished tight to cover will draw strikes from snook of all sizes.

SEBASTIAN INLET – Snook will continue to be the main target of Sebastian Inlet anglers in October. Redfish of all sizes will be mixed in with the snook and anglers using croakers, pigfish, shrimp, pinfish and mullet will find success. Nighttime will find boaters drifting the channel under A1A with live bait, while plug and jig anglers will be on their favorite rocks east and west of the bridge.

NEARSHORE ATLANTIC – The fishing along the beaches can be explosive in October if the weather allows. Find tarpon and Spanish mackerel schools by running along the beaches either by boat or by car, keeping your eyes peeled for diving birds and breaking fish. Live baits of just about any kind will get work for tarpon, while Gotcha plugs, jigs and flies are all you need to fill the cooler with Spanish in the 1-to-5-pound range. Tight lines!

PHOTO COURTESY of Chuck Schaus.

Chuck Schaus with a beauty of a snook caught on a live pigfish just off Sebastian Inlet’s north jetty.

For as long as I can remember we’ve called October ‘Sharktober’ because of the September- October storms that tend to stir the ocean up, also bring with it copious amounts of the Atlantic sharp nose sharks. They often will be so abundant that you can’t keep a line in the water. Surprisingly though, they almost taste like a pork chop if taken care of properly. My son loves them and calls them ‘Shark McNuggets’. You’re allowed two per boat, no minimum size limit. The secret is to cut the tail off as soon as you catch one to bleed it out. I fillet and cut them into small nuggets and batter fry them. There’s still some great fishing in October, it’s just a matter of finding clean water to fish.

Mostly you’re going to be fishing the 85-to-90-foot depths. This will be your best chance to find clean, shark-free water. Last year we

had some good catches of cobia, some mangrove snapper, lane and vermilion snapper.

For those fishing close to shore 30-to-50-foot, we should start seeing some early season Spanish mackerel and bluefish migrating south down the beach. There’s always fun action when they show up and they are easy to catch trolling small spoons, jigs, or medium running lures like YoZuri minnows. I recommend a light

wire like a #3 to keep from getting bit off. A 40-pound fluorocarbon leader will produce more bites, but you can expect to lose a few of those pricey little lures to the toothy fish. Look for cobia on the bigger 10-to-15foot ledges in 85-to-95-foot of water. Keep an eye out for birds diving on bait from the beach out to 50 foot to attract Spanish mackerel and bluefish.

Expect Atlantic sharp nose sharks

to be plentiful everywhere. I find it’s a good time to use some of those hooks that got a little rusty sitting in the box. You won’t mind losing 40 or 50 of them like you will a box of good Ultra Points, lol. If you’ve never eaten shark, try one, it might surprise you. As always be courteous to your fellow boater. You never know when you might need a tow. As always, support your local tackle shops.

“Fish on, gotta go!”

OCTOBER FISHING CONDITIONS

FORECASTS

FROM THE SHORE

Chris Beachwalker Sharp (772) 320 8611 beachwalkerfish@gmail.com

What do the ratings mean?

POOR day basically means the fish will either steal all your bait or will not even touch your line.

FAIR day means that you catch one or two fish but you will have to work hard to do so.

GOOD day means that you will catch enough fish to feel gratified.

BEST day means that you will catch something almost every time you cast your line in the water.

SOURCE: The Old Farmers’ 2023 Almanac

October is full of great chances to catch fish from land, tarpon being everyone’s choice. With the fall mullet run still taking place, mullet will be easy to catch. Use one to get a tarpon bite from the beach or bridges. Tarpon will appear along the beach early morning and early afternoon. You can’t miss them, they will be blowing up mullet and ready to eat. The top places to find them are Bathtub Beach, Walton Rocks Beach and Hobe Sound Beach.

The snook bite will be strong. Finding a slot will be hard. The larger fish are biting on live mullet or any bait that looks like a mullet. Live mullet on the beach, wading near docks or on bridges at night or at first light will get a bite. Bridges and beaches are the best choices, with nighttime action being best. Look

for the snook at the Ten Cent Bridge, Roosevelt Bridge and all along the beaches.

If redfish and trout are your target, fish the flats. Shrimp under a popping cork should get a bite. Good luck, tight lines.

PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Sharp.

Janet Crockett with a nice tarpon caught on a dead mullet.

these pelagic fish look to slow troll the normal 90-to-200 foot of water.

KAYAK FISHING FORECAST

Brian Nelli

Pushin’ Water Kayak Charters (772) 201-5899

Brian@tckayakfishing.com

www.tckayakfishing.com

INSHORE: There should still be the tail end of the mullet run going on during October. Look for most of the bait to be pushed into the Intracoastal. Snook will have mostly started to move back into the rivers and Intracoastal as well. Best baits will be live mullet and artificial lures that imitate a mullet. Try D.O.A. Bait Busters and Yo-Zuri Top Knock Lures to entice a bite.

OFFSHORE: Bottom fishing for mutton snapper and yellowtail snapper should remain good. Try using a leader in the 20-foot range tied to a Carolina rig or knocker rig depending on your drift. Finger mullet will work well along with dead sardines or any other frozen bait you can get your hands on. Sailfish,

FRESHWATER: Peacock bass and clown knifefish will be chewing this month. Prop baits will work well for peacock along shallow edges. Try 20-pound leader and a 2/0 circle hook casting in and around structure and weed lines to get onto a few clowns with finger mullet and shiners. Look to fish mid-water column and below by adding a pinch weight to your leader and get that bait in their face. Check out Pushin’ Water Kayak Charters on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok for all the latest adventures

PHOTOS CREDIT: Brian Nelli.

Ed with a good sailfish.

Braden with a nice peacock bass.

Fly Fishing Corner

By Capt. Michael Mauri

TRASH FISH

It’s truly fascinating to listen to fishermen discuss what they refer to as “trash fish” here in Florida. Among them, you’ll find false albacore, jack crevalle, barracuda, sharks, ladyfish, and lookdowns. Although there are more species that fall into this category, when it comes to fly fishing nearshore and inshore, these are the ones we often talk about. Surprisingly, a significant portion of my fly fishing guide business revolves around the first four species on that list. While I do pursue the “big five” – snook, tarpon, trout, redfish, and bonefish – in the Indian River Lagoon and along the beaches, it’s amazing to see how many fly anglers are drawn to Florida’s so-called trash fish!

People come from all over the world – Europe, Canada, South Africa, and many U.S. states – specifically to

target these lesser-known species, and they absolutely love it. Experiencing our unique environment makes their trips truly worthwhile. This doesn’t mean we ignore the famous species, but in certain situations and seasons, these often-overlooked fish add a lot of excitement to my day-to-day fly fishing business.

Unfortunately, recent years have seen increased fishing pressure on our fisheries, and it’s disheartening to witness how some individuals handle and treat the fish. We are all aware of the damage done to the entire Indian River Lagoon and the St. Lucie River, and it’s our responsibility to work towards positive change.

Capt. Michael Mauri www.mauriflyfishing.com

michael@mauriflyfishing.com (772) 485-3321

COASTAL ANGLER TREASURE COAST

Jakob’s first time surf fishing resulted in this catch!

PHOTO CREDIT: Jorge Lopez.

Cy Petric with a 25-inch monster flounder caught with a dead mullet nighttime fishing under a bridge in the St. Lucie River, Stuart, Fla.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alija Quintero.

Keisha Boyd, a USMC Vet from Polk County, caught this snook out of Stuart during the recent Bonito Blast.

PHOTO COURTESY of Keisha.

Greg Montgomery and Capt. Brenda Montgomery caught this 51-inch wahoo offshore the St. Lucie inlet.

PHOTO CREDIT: Capt. Brenda Montgomery.

Capt. Cody Baker, You’re on Fishing Charters, caught his first peacock bass (and clown knife fish) fishing on Lake Ida with South Florida Charters and Rico Outdoors.

PHOTO COURTESY of Capt. Cody Baker.

Chris Giuffrida with a stud 23-pound queen snapper that “Couldn’t resist the ole 600g jig from @johnnyjigs while fishing aboard the American Patriot Fishing vessel with the Southern Fortune Fishing boys.”

PHOTO COURTESY of Chris Giuffrida.

Let’s grow with Florida together.

CRANKBAITS KAYAKS &

By Coty Perry

Tricks You

Didn’t Know You Needed to Know

Although kayak anglers use the same lures as bank and boat anglers, we o en must adjust our approach. One lure I’ve found myself using di erently while bass shing from a kayak is the crankbait. I love throwing a crankbait, but a challenge to shing one in a kayak is the drag created by the lure. Fishing kayaks are much lighter than bass boats, so your kayak moves toward the lure as you retrieve it. Learning to control the yak was a signi cant adjustment I made when

transitioning to shing a crankbait from a kayak. I now steer my yak while reeling a crankbait instead of picking up a paddle. All I do is point my rod tip in the opposite direction I want to go. When my rod tip points to the le , my kayak dri s to the right and vice versa. To go straight, I point my rod tip straight ahead.

Speaking of the rod, I use a shorter rod, mainly because I sh areas with a lot of overhanging trees, and shorter rods transport easier in my rod box on my trailer and kayak. I also use a higher-speed reel than bank and bass boat anglers because I’m losing speed as the kayak dri s towards my crankbait. So, instead of a 6:1, I use an 8:1 or 7:1 gear ratio.

I spool up with braided line and use a 3- to 5-foot, 12- to 17-pound test uorocarbon leader. e length and strength depend on water clarity and how deep I sh.

More than likely, I have a squarebill crankbait tied on while shing shallow, which is a majority of the time. However, I will tie a deep-diving crankbait during the summer.

Where to Fish a Crankbait in a Yak

Crankbaits have a lot of bene ts, but they also have limitations. A lipless crankbait can be shed in the grass, especially along the edge of the grass, but most of the time, I sh crankbaits along rocky or riprap banks and over the tops of brushpiles.

I want my lure hitting every rock on the retrieve back because this o en triggers a bite. e same holds true for shing around laydowns and brushpiles. I don’t want to get snagged, but I’ve gotten so many bites a er bumping into submerged limbs.

Fishing in these two areas has helped me catch loads of bass on a crankbait, plus a few cat sh.

When to Fish a Crankbait in a Kayak

I sh a crankbait year-round. However, I change the style. In the cooler months, I tend to break out a lipless crankbait the most. As the water warms, I switch to a squarebill, and once I’m sure the sh have moved to deeper water, I’ll tie on a deep-diving crankbait during the hottest times of the year.

Coty Perry is a third-generation angler, who has a lot of experience on the water and loves sharing what he knows on anglers.com.

By Will Schmidt

RELEASING FISH THE RIGHT WAY

With so many species closed to harvest, releasing sh properly is more important than ever as we need these sh to thrive and spawn. ere are some very simple rules to follow that will help ensure the vitality of a released sh.

First and foremost, keep them wet. A sh out of water is going through a major amount of stress. is is especially true a er a long ght. It’s like running a race and then having to hold your breath. e best-case scenario is to use a dehooker that allows you to release the sh without ever taking it out of the water. Long pliers or dehookers that slide down the line and allow you to ip the sh o work great. If you do need to li the sh, work fast and get the sh back in the water before it stops dripping water. When taking pictures, keep the sh in the water until you are completely ready. Also consider a more creative angle other than the traditional hero pose so the sh stays in the water. e way you handle the sh out of water makes a huge di erence. Keeping them wet also preserves the vital slime on the sh which is crucial. Make sure your hands are wet. Avoid putting sh on dry surfaces. Rough dry surfaces like boat decks and rocks remove much of the vital slime from a sh. Never use a dry towel to handle a sh; that can be the kiss of death. Using a rubber net versus a nylon net also greatly reduces the amount of slime removed.

Bottom shing in deep water creates another issue, barotrauma, or the expansion of gas inside a sh as it ascends from the deep. You know the bulging stomach and eyes. Descending devices are easy ways to ensure sh su ering barotrauma make it safely back to the bottom. ey are required by law now in many areas for many species. While venting tools work well, most people do not use them properly and o en don’t have the proper tool. Ice picks are not proper devices.

Lip clamps and inverted hook style release techniques are simple and work great. Here’s a bonus: if you visit Return ‘Em Right (https://returnemright. org), you can get the equipment you need for free. It’s a $100 value.

Have a rod rigged and ready with your descending device so you get the sh back in the water and down as quickly as possible. I’ve also found that the using a lighter weight than provided by Return ‘Em Right is much easier to retrieve and works on smaller snapper and such. at said, with many grouper out of season, make sure you keep a heavier weight with you for when you get a big one.

Helping sh survive being caught today is the key to having sh to catch tomorrow.

Will Schmidt is a seasoned tournament angler who has been writing about shing from more than two decades.

Hurricane Season

Be

STICK MARSH FILLS UP FOR FALL FISHING

One of Florida’s premier bass sheries, known as Stick Marsh or Farm 13, is re lling and should become a better shery thanks to a large-scale habitat restoration conducted by FWC and the St. Johns River Water Management District.

e reservoir, which straddles Brevard and Indian River counties, was drawn down by 4 feet in February to stimulate submersed plant growth and re-establish native emergent vegetation, which should improve habitat for sh and wildlife. FWC sta planted the southern portion of the reservoir with native aquatic plants, including 131,000 bulrush and 40,000 spatterdock plants at a total cost of $400,000. Plants were installed across the waterbody going east-west to provide a natural wave break for the shallow southern end.

Custom Spliced Dock Lines & Anchor Rodes

Two tree islands form a Critical Wildlife Area within the reservoir, which provides nesting and roosting habitat for imperiled waterbirds, including roseate spoonbills and tricolored herons. e lower water levels created by the drawdown bene ted waterbirds by increasing foraging habitat and concentrating prey. Water levels will be allowed to slowly rise with rainfall and by now should be back within the normal range.

ree Forks Conservation Area to the north also underwent a drawdown. ree Forks Reservoir will be back within normal range before Stick Marsh/ Farm 13.

e St. Johns Water Management Area boat ramp at Stick Marsh/Farm 13 and the omas O. Lawton Recreation Area boat ramp at ree Forks Conservation Area remain accessible. Be aware that shallower water continues to create underwater hazards.

For more information, visit MyFWC.com.

SHRIMP: THE KING OF BAITS

Tim Barefoot

In the Atlantic, mature white shrimp go on the move in fall and transition to tighter fall and winter homes in the ocean.

ere are only a few sh that do not actively seek out white shrimp this time of year. For almost all the sh we seek to catch, it’s the ultimate bait.

At one point in my life, I spent an incredible amount of time cast netting and storing white shrimp (green tails) for trout shing in October, November and December. e biggest problem with shrimp as bait is all the trash bites from pin sh and all the other little snappers. Snook and tarpon will de nitely key on a big pretty shrimp, but keeping the trash o of them is di cult. Everything down there will give a shrimp a whack and at least take a few legs or the tail o is is the reason I went the arti cial route years ago when it comes to shrimp.

ere is nothing, I mean NOTHING, more e ective on inshore species than a live shrimp with a 6/0 - 8/0 circle hook under a sliding cork or freelined. With that said, I’ve taken the path of least resistance and now sh a DOA Shrimp on a jig head. It gets the bite, and I don’t spend hours messing with live bait or netting it on the morning of the trip.

I’m not saying catching live shrimp is a waste of time… it’s not, but with arti cials, I can show up with my entire tackle box in a small backpack full of tricks.

e hour or two at daylight in the morning, I prefer the “measles” color DOA because a shrimp’s legs and underbody are red in the dark and at rst light. When the sun gets up, I switch to the “near clear” color when the water is clear, but only if they stop eating the measles color. You can’t x what ain’t broke.

I mash the barb down on the jig hook. is way, when sh I don’t plan to eat come to the boat, I don’t have to touch the sh. Just grab the jig head and give a quick reverse motion. e hook comes right out. You can get back in the action, and the sh has a better chance of survival. e same jig and so plastic shrimp combo is extremely e ective shed under a xed cork at night. Make a long cast up-current around bridge pilings, docks or other structure. is is not the situation for a popping cork with all the beads and rattles. I like a nice quiet, heavy-duty cork that can be shed quietly or with quite a bit of noise. I stay in touch with the cork, and let the current dictate the speed of the retrieve. Any way you sh it, white shrimp reign supreme for inshore shing, especially in October and November.

To see more from Tim Barefoot, go to barefootcatsandtackle.com.

GO GET SOME GULF SNAPPER!

Florida’s extended fall Gulf of Mexico red snapper season is still going on. Gulf Anglers are taking advantage of some great shing, and there are still eight weekends in October and November to get in on the action.

e limit is two per person, per day with a 16-inch minimum size limit. e remaining 2023 dates available for harvest of red snapper in the Gulf are:

• October 6–8

• October 13–15

• October 20–22

• October 27–29

• November 3–5

• November 10–12 (Veterans DayWeekend)

• November 17–19

• November 23–26 (ThanksgivingWeekend)

Anglers pursuing red snapper in state or federal waters from a private recreational vessel, even those exempt from shing license requirements, must sign up as a State Reef Fish Angler (annual renewal required) at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com.

For more information, go to MyFWC.com.

ATLANTIC BLUELINE HARVEST CLOSED

Prospects for loading the cooler bottom shing got a little slimmer when harvest of blueline tile sh closed in Atlantic state waters of Florida on Sept. 1. is closure is consistent with the closure in adjacent federal waters. Harvest will reopen May 1, 2024.

ese delicious bottom dwellers are frequently caught by anglers targeting deep-water groupers. ey inhabit 250- to 800-foot depths and their popularity as a game sh has risen in the last decade as restrictions on other species has led anglers to target them. ey came on the radar for federal sheries managers in 2014 and 2015, when blueline tile sh were determined to be over shed.

e regular season for blueline tile sh in Atlantic state waters is May 1 through Aug. 31. e daily limit is three sh within the aggregate limit for blueline tile sh and grouper.

For more information, visit MyFWC.com.

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COOK ISLANDS GRANDER CAUGHT SOLO FROM A 22-FOOT BOAT

Catching a grander is one of the most sought-after feats in sportfishing. Boats, crews and anglers enter rare air when they hook and land a 1,000-pound-plus marlin, and untold time and money are spent chasing the dream.

Fishing solo from a 22-foot boat, angler Arnold Pauro achieved his lifelong dream Aug. 25 when he hauled in a 1,128-pound blue marlin that is a new record for the Cook Islands. According to the Cook Island News, Pauro came tight with the huge blue fishing just 3 miles off the southern end of the island Rarotonga.

Rarotonga is the most populated of the Cook Islands, which is an archipelago nation out in the middle of the South Pacific northeast of New Zealand. Rarotonga is renowned for excellent flats fishing, especially for bonefish, and like many volcanic islands, the water drops into thousandfoot depths just a few miles offshore. This creates a situation where bluewater fishing is very accessible, even for anglers in smaller boats.

According to the Cook Island News, Pauro managed to subdue the giant fish solo in his small boat, Haurua, by keeping a short line. He first brought the fish boat-side after just 3 minutes, and then all hell broke loose. Arnold told the news outlet that the fish jumped 40 or 50 times and ran out of steam after about an hour and a half.

“I kept it to 50 metres of line, kept it short, I don’t like letting my marlin go,” he told the Cook Island News.

Arnold’s fish topped the Cook Island weight record of 1,045 pounds, which was set by angler Paku Poila in November 2020. The IGFA all-tackle world record for blue marlin was caught off Brazil in 1992. It weighed 1,402 pounds.

To read the original report, go to www.cookislandsnews.com.

Hanapa‘a - Mahi

Hanapa‘a - Ono

Hanapa‘a - Ahi

Hanapa‘a - Marlin

Fish flags inspired by Sun Dot Marine Flags.

@fishflags

For the third time in the last 13 years, serious flaws have been revealed in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) data collection programs for recreational fisheries. A recent pilot study conducted by NOAA itself and published in August found that estimates on angler effort might be overestimated by 30 to 40 percent.

These inflated estimates are important because they are part of the equation used to manage our fisheries. The data is used in stock assessments, and to estimate harvest numbers and recreational discard. By overestimating angler effort, catch data is also inflated, which means the data erroneously reflects a larger harvest by recreational anglers than actually exists.

In a nutshell, the pilot study found that the Marine Recreational Information Program’s Fishing Effort Survey is confusing to respondents, which led to “reporting errors” and “illogical responses.” NOAA said this survey, which is mailed to licensed saltwater anglers, “remains the best and sometimes the only available science for tracking relative year-to-year and long-term effort trends.”

The immediate reaction to this revelation from some outlets was a call to reduce restrictions on recreational anglers. The estimate means fewer fish were actually caught, which means there are more fish still in the water, right? Not so fast. This catch and effort data also figures into stock assessments. The inflated effort numbers translate to an overestimation in fish populations.

“The news of this significant overestimation has serious implications for all of our fisheries. Since every species is managed differently, the ramifications of this information cannot be quantified under a singular umbrella,” reads a

report from the American Saltwater Guides Association (ASGA). “It does not mean that because fishing effort is less than originally expected, there must be more fish to harvest. In fact, it will mean there needs to be a major re-calibration because effort is used to help determine stock size. If we have overestimated effort, we also overestimated the stock. We must go species by species to understand the best path for management moving forward. Now more than ever, we need to be precautionary in our management approach.”

NOAA has indicated it will initiate further studies into the findings of its pilot study, according to the ASGA report. Meanwhile, a group of marine conservation and recreational fishing organizations has ramped up its call to wrest control of recreational data collection from the federal government and turn it over to state agencies.

“Yet another major revision to the federal recreational data collection system is upon us, and it should bring a realization that NOAA is just not capable of doing this job,” said Ted Venker, conservation director of the Coastal Conservation Association. “At best we are looking at several more years of questionable revisions, recalculations, and recalibrations based on a suspect data system that has never proven it can produce accurate information. This is no way to manage a public resource. It would be irresponsible to continue down this road rather than exploring and supporting state-based options to better manage the recreational sector wherever feasible.”

HIGHWAY 17 SOUTH, GREEN COVE SPRINGS, FL 32043

31-INCH LIMIT ON ATLANTIC STRIPER EXTENDED

New Management Plan Delayed Until at Least January

Recreational anglers in Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic Coast must continue to release all striped bass longer than 31 inches after fisheries managers extended an emergency regulation that was set to expire on Oct. 28. The extension’s new expiration date is Oct. 28, 2024, which gives the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) more than a full year to grapple with a complex management plan intended to rebuild the coastwide striper population by 2029.

The emergency measure was first implemented in May, after estimates showed recreational harvest nearly doubled in 2022 over 2021’s figures. At the time, projections plummeted from a 97 percent chance the stock would be rebuilt by 2029 to just a 15 percent.

NOAA’s Fisheries Effort Survey, which was found recently to have overestimated angler effort by 30 to 40 percent, is an important part of recreational harvest estimates. It also plays into stock assessments for the striped bass fishery.

However, scientists still believe striped bass reproduction has been down since 2015. The 2015 age class was strong, and those fish are now the larger fish in the population that contribute most to reproduction. The emergency measure was implemented to protect the larger breeding fish.

The Chesapeake Bay “Trophy” season, which has historically been an important fishery for bay anglers, is exempt from this emergency regulation. The short early May season in Maryland has allowed anglers to keep one fish longer than 35 inches per person. A press release from ASMFC warned anglers that this special season might change once the emergency measure is replaced by a management plan that is supposed to come from ASMFC’s Addendum II of the Atlantic Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan.

Addendum II is a complex document with a range of management options intended to rebuild the striped bass stock by the end of the decade. It was hoped Addendum II would be ready for implementation in October. After five hours of back and forth at an August commission meeting, the decision was made to delay action. Now, the earliest a new management plan can be implemented is January 2024.

“Moving the emergency action forward was an important stop-gap measure to balance fishing mortality in the recreational fishery,” said David Sikorski, a Maryland delegate to the ASMFC. “Unfortunately, the delay in advancing draft Addendum II leaves uncertainty in our ability to meet our rebuilding goals and reduce overall fishing mortality ahead of the 2024 fishing year. Between now and the October 2023 meeting, draft Addendum II will be updated and provided to the board and posted online.”

The 31-inch maximum emergency rule will remain in place until Oct. 28, 2024, or until it is replaced by restrictions in Addendum II.

For more information, go to http://www.asmfc.org/

SNELLING A HOOK

Snelling a hook is an age-old way of attaching it to your line. It is a technique that pre-dates the invention of hook eyes, when hooks only had flattened tops and snelling the hook was required to create a good connection to the line.

Thanks to hook eyes, this is no longer necessary, but a snell knot remains one of the best connections out there for simple line-to-hook connections. The knot’s ability to orient the point of the hook in the right direction for octopus and circle hooks makes it a go-to knot for live and cut bait fishing. You’ll get more solid hook sets when you snell circle hooks.

A snell knot is quick and easy to tie and it provides a strong connection. The only real disadvantage is the knot is on the shank of the hook, where it is vulnerable to the teeth of toothy critters. It’s probably not the best choice if you’re fishing for muskie or barracuda.

For more information, go to usangler.com.

HAVE

YOU CAUGHT A LENGTH-RECORD SMALLIE?

This gorgeous Colorado River smallmouth bass is a new IGFA alltackle world length record for the species.

The chunky smallmouth measured 53 centimeters (20 inches) on an official IGFA measuring device, which tied the fish for the length record with two other officially recognized smallies. Sarah Harris landed her big fish while night fishing on the Colorado River in Arizona. It slammed a topwater lure and was boated after a short fight. After snapping some photos, Harris released it safely.

Harris’s bass tied a smallmouth caught by William Brent Evans from Alabama’s Lake Guntersville in 2014 as well as one caught from Washington’s Osoyoos Lake by Shane Hoelzle in 2020.

The IGFA all-tackle world record smallmouth by weight is a longstanding 11-pound, 15-ounce mark that was set in 1955 by David Hayes at Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee.

Hayes’s Dale Hollow fish is a record that might stand forever, but those length records can be beaten. While a 20-inch smallmouth is definitely a trophy fish, 20-plus inchers are caught pretty regularly. It’s a matter of time before someone with an official IGFA measuring device puts one in the boat. For more, go to IGFA.org.

SEARCH WITH A BLADED JIG

TYLER WOOLCOTT

This time of year, when bass are feeding up ahead of winter, it’s tough to beat a bladed jig—or Chatterbait—to find hungry fish.

In most cases, the Chatterbait is in my arsenal as a search bait to cover a ton of water. There isn’t a piece of cover that I can think of that I haven’t thrown it around with success. Docks, wood, grass, rocks, anywhere a bass might live and feed is a good place to throw it. Most of the time you can locate fish with this bait and then go back through the same area with something else and pick up some more bites. If there are hungry bass around and you present this bait in the right way, you will get a bite.

A lot of times I am trying to duplicate an injured baitfish with a Chatterbait, whether they be shad, shiners or bluegill. Whites, golds and green pumpkin colors are my go to baitfish imitators and are what I have tied on most of the time. If the water is dirty or when fish are feeding on crayfish, I’ll switch to a black and blue or even an orange or red color. Match a trailer bait of your choice on the back like a swimbait or a craw trailer, and you’ll be good to go.

Chatterbait bites are usually reaction strikes, so I vary the retrieve to create erratic action while keeping the lure in the strike zone. I do this by speeding up my retrieval speed and then pausing for a very short period of time and then resuming a normal retrieval rate. Believe it or not, there are way more fish that follow your bait and don’t commit than you think. A very small adjustment in the speed can make the difference and convince these fish to eat. A 3/8-oz. and a ½-oz. are pretty much the only two sizes I throw. This covers all different depth ranges from a foot of water down to 10 feet. Cover as much water as possible until you pin point a healthy population of feeding bass then slow down with a different bait that you can work slower.

Chatterbait Gear

A moderate-action rod makes a huge difference when it comes to keeping fish hooked up. The 13 Fishing Omen Black 7’4mhm is absolutely perfect for fishing a Chatterbait. I pair a 7:5:1 gear ratio Concept A 13 Fishing reel with this and spool it with 17-lb. Seaguar Abraz X. I throw some bigger line with this, as you are usually around some type of cover and are working the bait fairly fast, so they won’t get a chance to see your line anyway.

Hope this fishing tip will give you some confidence to try this technique, if you haven’t already. It flat out catches them. Good luck out there and tight lines!

Tyler Woolcott is a professional tournament angler and guide. Check out his website at www.tylerwoolcottfishing.com.

THROUGHOUT!

RECORD MAHI CAUGHT OFF WASHINGTON STATE

A20-pound mahi might not be surprising off the coasts of Florida or Mexico, but this 21-pound, 48-inch-long dolphinfish is a super rare catch off the coast of Washington State. It’s the largest one anyone’s ever caught there.

Angler Wade La Fontaine caught his state record mahi 42 miles out in the Pacific off the Washington coast on Aug. 25. He was on a charter trip with Capt. Keith Johnson aboard the Tunacious. They were trolling for tuna with plastic squid lures behind a spreader when the mahi hit.

Upon landing at the dock in Westport, Washington, the dolphinfish was checked by a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, then weighed on a certified scale. After review, the record was certified on Aug. 30.

Dolphinfish are sporadically caught by recreational and commercial fishers targeting albacore tuna and other species off the Washington and Oregon coasts, including a handful recorded last year at the ports of Westport and Ilwaco and at least two this summer.

“Most mahi mahi caught off our coast are smaller fish in the 6- to 12-pound range,” read a WDFW press release. “La Fontaine’s fish — which was 48 inches long and 40 inches to the inside fork of the tail — was more reminiscent of large

dolphinfish caught in warmer waters off southern California, Mexico and Hawaii.”

The previous Washington state record weighed 16.27 pounds. It was caught by Albert DaSilva in 2013.

The charter reported 70-degree water temperature in the area where the fish was caught, which is warm, even for the warmer offshore currents, though not unprecedented especially during El Nino years, explained the release.

The Return of a

“I’m blessed beyond comprehension,” La Fontaine said. “I’ll be getting another tattoo of a mahi!”

Albacore tuna are the primary target for Pacific Northwest offshore anglers, with large schools of these “longfin tuna” abundant off the coast of northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia in the summer and early fall. Albacore are found in the blue water, a mass of warmer Sea Surface Temperature water typically found off the West Coast of North America during summer and fall, and off Southern California yearround.

For more information, go to https://wdfw.wa.gov/