With the dog days of summer almost behind us, and fall fishing patterns starting to take root along many of the inshore fishing areas scattered through out the Nature Coast all eyes will soon turn to the shallows in preparation for what can only be called “Shallow Water Madness”
What do I mean by “Shallow Water Madness” you ask?Fishing Guides talk about schools of fish all the time, but there are very few captains throughout Florida that ever have the chance to talk about schools of “THOUSANDS OF FISH!”Because thousand fish schools sound so unbelievable I like to refer to these big schools of fish by how many acres of water they take up.5 acres of fish in 10 ft of water, you can do the math on that, THAT’S A TON OF FISH!!!
Here along the NatureCoast we are fortunate enough to have two major migrations which occur primarily in September and October.The Redfish migration that takes place on or around the full moons from August-October is a spectacle that the CrystalRiver area is widely known for.With strong full moon tides bringing in tons of pinfish, ballyhoo, and whitebait from offshore, many huge schools of Redfish congregate around ambush points to gorge themselves before heading offshore to spawn.In years past 30-50 fish MORNINGS were common and with most of these fish being well over the slot, this is considered “Combat Fishing” at its finest.
Interestingly enough while the Redfish bite can be fantastic during the incoming tides, the Bonita fishing can be even better during the outgoing stages of the tide.What ever baitfish survive the Redfish bonanza during the incoming tide, will then have to go through a gauntlet in order to get passed the waiting schools of Bonita during the outgoing portions of the tide.Acres and Acres of feeding Bonita can be seen for miles during the major runs of September and October.With most of these fish feeding on anything and everything on the surface, Bonita can only be described as one of the most sought after fish for sight fishermen/women and fly anglers.
Imagine catching 30 oversized Redfish in the morning only to tangle with 20+ Bonita ranging from 6-12lbs in the afternoon.These are the possibilities that September and October hold for anglers interested in a fight along the NatureCoast.So if long drag screaming runs and back breaking fights is what you need to cure that case of “Fishing Fever,” give Red Hot Fishing Charters a call today we specialize in HYDROTHERAPY!!
