SWFL Fishing Forecast for October, 2021

The Fall pattern has finally seemed to set into Southwest Florida. We are still experiencing some afternoon rainstorms. It might just be me, but it seems as if I’m getting chased in earlier than I can remember in recent years. Perhaps, I’m just getting a little older and being more careful! Well anyway, lets talk about whats been happening in the harbor the past couple weeks and whats about to start happening. First off if you like chasing big silver fish that jump, it was crazy heading into the full moon. We had fish all over the harbor blowing up bait feeding like crazy. However the closer we got to the big moon those fish seemed to slow down. Probably due to the fact that brighter sky’s at night. Well don’t worry, as the moon begins to shrink, the big silvers will start to be a lot more aggressive early in the day. I still recommend keeping your eyes open for schools of lady fish. This could led to one of your best tarpon bites you never expected.

The best fall bite that has been going off is redfish. It seems that just about any place I pull up to has reds that are willing to play. For me the key seems to be areas that have schools of mullet in the area. I know when I say mullet, I get a strange look. Well these often overlooked vegetarian fish play a big role in catching predator fish. When these guys form large schools and are feeding on algae, they stir up the bottom. While doing this they stir up the small crustaceans and bait fish that predators feed upon. So overlooking the fish that jump a lot might be a bad idea.

For the anglers that just want to catch a few fish for the table, the mangrove snapper bite has still been very good. Over the past few days, we have done very well on any bar that has grass and or oysters. The biggest key seems to be moving water. These little guys have excellent eye sight and can be pretty picky. However when the tides flowing good they seem to be more aggressive. If necessary I recommend to down size your tackle. Often times a lighter leader and smaller hook will have magical results.

As we move further along into fall my favorite fish the snook will become very active. Even though on my recent charters we have been able to catch 50 plus, they’ve been on the smaller side than I prefer. Don’t get me wrong, seeing these smaller fish is actually great. Yea, you guessed it the bigger snook should start feeding heavy after spawning. The next few weeks we should see a major push of snook moving back up into the harbor. These guys will be moving closer to there winter haunts. We’ll get more into that in next months article.

Well folks, we are not out of our storm season. So remember to keep your eye on the sky while out enjoying our great harbor.

If you would like to experience some of Southwest Florida’s finest fishing give me a call or send me an email. All of our trips are private and customized to fit you and your parties needs.

You can also follow me on Twitter @ backbayxtremes for daily and weekly updates.

Captain Dave Stephens * (941) 916-5769 * Back Bay Xtremes * PO Box 510746, Punta Gorda FL 33951

Flats Fishing Charters for Charlotte Harbour, Punta Gorda, Florida