Fall Fishing is Upon Us!
Wow = almost October. Yes, I’ve been a little lax in updates, but it has been because of my crazy schedule, and not from a lack of fishing. In fact, I’ve managed to wet a line at least a few hours every weekend since my last update. At the Merry Pier, the story has been snapper. Snapper, snapper and more snapper. Big ones, medium ones and a few little ‘uns. Most days I have managed a limit of big ones (12″ to 18″ fish) after 2-3 hours of fishing. But, over the last couple of weeks, the snapper bite has started to cool off. They’re still around, and some are really big, but they’ve slowed down and thinned out as the migration offshore has begun. I suspect there will be a few lingering for the next few weeks.
There is still a ton of bait around, mostly still small stuff. Pinfish and spotail pins are making there presence felt for anyone using shrimp.
Cobia are around, and while not reliable, I have seen at least one caught every weekend. So far, Juan scored the only keeper; most are running 25″ to 32″.
Gag grouper are picking up. I am still hunting my first keeper of the season, but I’ve landed lots of shorts. And I have seen pictures of quality fish to 30″ from the last week or two,
I am optimistic about flounder season, which is just a cold front or two away. Lots of flounder have been showing, but they’re all running very small. A good front, one that drops the water temperature by at least a couple degrees should bring the big fish inshore.