Fishing with Capt. George Tunison | Early fall is prime for anglers in Southwest Florida! Everything is biting
You can still score a bright silver tarpon before they leave. Snook are starting to think about moving back from the beach while eating and storing fat and energy for the upcoming winter. Seatrout are still steaming in the hot water waiting for a cool down. Offshore and nearshore, mackerel, grouper and snapper are all willing biters with the larger, less pressured specimens available the further out your boat and fuel takes you on good weather days.
Although Southwest Florida anglers are blessed with a huge variety of salt and freshwater species to purse using a great variety of angling techniques — for me sight-fishing spooky fish in skinny water is the real deal. Serious sight anglers don’t worry about Minn Kota or Motor Guides latest amazing technology and or high priced lithium batteries, instead putting themselves high up on a platform, pole in hand hunting for waving tails, tails that often disappear long before electric powered craft get within casting range. Learning to quietly pole a skiff and becoming an expert forward and backhanded skip-caster puts you in a class far above other Southwest Florida anglers.
Of the three glamour species hunted on the flats worldwide, we local anglers make do with finding flats tarpon to pursue with permit and bonefish left swimming in more southerly waters. Although sight-fished snook along area beaches is a fun challenge, up that game by trying for another popular local fish, a fish every bit as skittish as a Keys bonefish during tourist season — a local seatrout over 5 pounds which is a real trophy
No flats permit or silver ghost bonefish? No problem. September through November are prime redfish hunting months here on the flats and passes of Southwest Florida. Target early morning rising tides on local flats for schooling and tailing fish in the 5- to 15-pound range. Typically when redfish exceed 30 inches, life is spent offshore where anglers going off to catch deep-water species often see massive, acre-sized schools coming to the top turning the water copper/gold. One shallow exception is the Indian River or Mosquito Lagoon where huge redfish schools, fish exceeding 50 pounds, are often found in shallow water year round.
I was fortunate to experience this amazing fishery long ago before water quality issues started killing off vital seagrass beds, similar to the ongoing destruction of Matlacha Pass by upstream city toxic run-off and Lake Okeechobee poison stews. Fortunately the lagoon is experiencing a great comeback as water quality issues are finally being seriously addressed. Unfortunately for local anglers, lots of Matlacha Pass, especially the southern end, is in very serious trouble and will eventually collapse if current water standards are allowed to continue.
With local reds staring to go in schooling behavior newbies often ask, “What’s the best lure to throw?” With a redfish’s insatiable appetite and beagle quality nose, the best “lure” would be alive or dead bait with shrimp always a top choice.
After decades on the water, my number one lure choice for flats reds would be a simple gold spoon presented at the right speed so it doesn’t spin but wobbles and flashes enticingly. This search lure casts far and has great hook-up ratio but should always be used with a tiny but strong swivel up the leader.
Redfish, especially schooling reds, are highly competitive so open that lure box and experiment. Reds love top-waters, chatter baits, creature lures, spinnerbaits, fly rod offerings, you name it, and schooling reds will race to eat it. One of my favorite top-waters is a classic Arborgast Jitterbug slowly plopping along, driving fish crazy.
For sight-fishing, a well presented fly or DOA soft plastic is always hard to beat when casting at tailing fish.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at captgeorget4@yahoo.com or (239) 440-1621.