Fishing with Capt. George Tunison | Fall brings the fun on the water
If you enjoy challenging powerful fish on ultra-light to light tackle, as well as catching something different, fall is the time.
Right now, there’s a gang of killers hanging out around local bars in Matlacha Pass and Pine Island Sound. These are powerful creatures with really bad attitudes sporting as many razor sharp teeth as a shark, attacking and running at lightning speed, smoking drags, jumping high and will gladly bite the hand that fed it that Zara Spook.
Fall brings the vicious bluefish into shallow waters, unfortunately not the 15 to 25-pound wolf pack specimens many of us caught years ago in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, but instead, 3 to 6-pound shallow water terrors that on light tackle are really big fun.
Oyster bars attract them, as well as fast moving erratic retrieves. Since bars are shallow and snaggy, fast-moving top water plugs and fly rod poppers or big bugs are a natural choice. Your only problem is a snook, redfish, trout, and shark bycatch.
Another early fall light tackle rod-bender visitor is the bonito.
On a lite snook or fly rod, this is a fish guaranteed to put a smile on your face as you watch your warming spool quickly getting line skinny.
Sometimes found just off the beaches to many miles offshore, using your binoculars (that you always carry in the boat), scan for birds or surface activity.
We’ve always had great luck using three-eighths to half-ounce white bucktail jigs on light spinning rods and various white Seaducer’s and other baitfish pattern flies on 7 to 9-weight rods.
A 10-pound bonito on a 7-weight rod will go very deep into your reels backing and provide long lasting memories. Sink tip fly lines are good to have aboard in case the surface bite slows down. These fast-moving fish attack fast-moving prey, so on spin tackle crank and jig till you find a rhythm that works, but quite often a fast, straight retrieve works best.
Fly rodders use the speedy armpit technique, which means casting then quickly tucking the reel in your armpit then start doing a high-speed, hand-over-hand manual line retrieve.
Upon getting a bite, set the hook with a couple sharp short tugs, then let the line (under finger tension) slip through your fingers while concentrating on clearing the remaining line from around your feet, toes and ankles, finally getting the fish on the reel’s drag.
Fall tripletail will be showing up under stone crab trap buoys with yesterday’s season opener. There are many ways to trick a tricky tripletail. If you spot a trip under a buoy, quietly motor back to within casting distance then using a trolling motor to stay up tide so you can then float a live shrimp back to the fish – freelined or using a small float.
If the fish gets spooked, chances are he just sank lower along the buoy rope. Let the fish rest then try him again later in the trip.
Fly anglers score well using shrimp and crab patterns.
If you want to tangle with truly jumbo specimens, then fish the Cape Canaveral Space Coast area where over 40-pound trips are a possibility and can be caught close to shore. Florida’s state record taken near Fort Pierce weighed in at 40 pounds, 13 ounces, close to the IGFA world record of 42 pounds, 5 ounces, caught off South Africa.
“Get ’em while ya can.” If your goal is to fight a red snapper or having one as an honored dinner guest you still have time, as the open harvest doesn’t stop till Oct. 22 before reopening on scheduled weekend and holiday dates.
Inshore, you’ll find a good variety of biting fish with our local redfish, the current undisputed star of the flats and mangrove edges. Fish obvious schools and look for tag-a-longs in mullet schools or better yet, sight fish tailers on low water phases.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at captgeorget4@yahoo.com or (239) 440-1621.