Capt George Tunison

Here’s hoping that everyone is safe, your roof intact or at least tarped, and the boat is still where you put it before the storm. If you survived with little damage, consider helping others less fortunate around you especially the senior population.

For the last decade or so I’ve watched our local seagrasses throughout Matlacha Pass and Pine Island die off at an alarming rate. Over the last five years the destruction has certainly accelerated. What the recent fuel, oil and raw sewage spills will do to this already damaged environment remains to be seen but obviously can’t be good.

If you really need to get in the boat and wet a line, be very careful. Slow down! The black water is hiding planks, logs, rope and roofing, lawn chairs, any number of things all designed to snag or take out your lower unit. Wind driven tides have also changed many bottom contours, so again, slow is the way to go.

In some cases the water may even be toxic. Wetting pre-existing skin cuts could possibly lead to a nasty flesh eating bacteria issue.

October certainly is redfish season and juvenile to young adult (approximately 4 years old) redfish are schooling around your favorite honey hole looking to eat before heading off to live the balance of their very long lives along the coast.

You might encounter a tailing trio, heads down, tails wagging in the air as they inspect the bottom for anything edible, or you may see a huge school of a hundred or more fish pushing across a shallow flat rippling the water. Sometimes they seem to disappear when, in fact, the school just moved 40 yards to your right and moved down into a depression or drop-off on the edge of the flat.

Cape Coral anglers are in the FWC’s Charlotte Harbor Redfish Management Zone and zone rules allow an angler to harvest one redfish per day not less than 18 inches or more than 27 inches, with a daily two-fish-per-boat total limit.

To target reds, first check your tide chart. If your lifestyle permits, pick a low, incoming, early morning tide to find tailing fish on the flats. Approach these fish quietly and you can get quite close. The ultimate set-up for this fishing is best done using a small skiff powered by a near silent push pole. Another skiff advantage is the angler high up on the poling platform is able to spot these feeding fish early and relay the location to the deck-bound angler below. If you’re really stealthy and the pod of high tailing reds is feeding heavily, sometimes you can actually get close enough to poke one with your rod.

After spotting your tailors, first determine the direction they’re feeding then lightly cast your lure or fly a couple of feet in front of them and let in settle into the feeding zone. Of course, a heavy splash down will have the opposite effect and spook the pod. Learn to feather your spinning reel spool with a finger, stopping the lure just before entering the water to limit entry noise.

Before the tide comes up and the water and fish get way back under the mangroves, shallow reds will take almost any lure, especially when in schooling mode, as they become quite competitive when it comes to feeding. Top-water plugs are eagerly chased and often it’s quite a show as the red makes multiple attempts at nabbing the lure before finding the hook. When this happens, remember to keep the retrieve going or the fish will lose interest.

If you can’t find a school pushing or tailers tailing, then put on a search lure and cover ground making long casts. The #1 search bait for shallow redfish is the spoon, retrieved at a medium speed so the lure doesn’t spin, only wobbles and flashes.

Slow down and be safe.

Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. Contact him at 239-282-9434 or captgeorget3@aol.com.