lighted docks and bridges in the ICW at night. The same flies that work in the surf will also work at night. Reds should be schooled up on shallow flats this month. After they’ve been pressured for a while they may be harder to find. Look for them in deeper water close to bars and the edges of flats. It will be easier to locate them when the tide is low and it is calm. Look for something as obvious as a boat wake or as subtle as a “nervous” patch of water when it is calm. I’ve also found them feeding on the surface like jacks with birds on them. Often they are not that easy to find and they can be very spooky. Once I’ve located a school of reds, I use a push pole to get ahead of them and position the boat
Look for albies (little tunny) in the coastal gulf this month.
to make a cast. A trolling motor can be used sparingly, however if you run it hard, vary the speed or turn it on and off, it is more likely to spook reds than at a continuous slow speed. Fly anglers should score with poppers, Gurglers or wide profile baitfish fly patterns such as Lefty’s Deceiver or EP flies. Fly poppers may make a school of reds show themselves. The shallow flats of north Sarasota Bay are some of my favorite spots for reds. You might also find big trout in skinny water in many of the same places you find reds. The best time will be at first light in the morning. Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL, ha Focus on bait and mullet schools to find them and gulf off Sarasota on flies last September wh cast fly poppers and Gurglers on floating lines Capt. Rick Grassett file photos. for exciting strikes. There will be a very narrow window of action from first light until it gets bright out, so don’t be late. After it gets bright out, trout will drop into deeper water where you might find them feeding along with blues, ladyfish, jacks or even tarpon. Look for