Tag Archives: redfish

Well it is fall again and we’ve been waiting and waiting for the water temp to get below the boiling point… Guess all that wind cooled it down like a spoon full of hot soup! Now if only the wind would let up. Just this past week Kelly and I have had quite a few reds and really nice trout bending our rods in the back country. But in order to find any of the fishing that’s going to be worthwhile, you have got to put in some time and do some scouting. Most times you can tell when there are fish in the area by how long it takes for that first fish to be caught. If your shrimp and popper cork hit the water and before you can get the bail flipped back over your line is blistering off the spool… you’re in the right spot. Keep in mind there are wafts of red tide in our area so keep an eye out for that. Make sure to keep an eye on your bait as well. It will only take a minute and all of those little silver fish catching gems will be flat on the bottom doing their best impression of a mirror.

All that hard work and time spent catching bait for nothing. The best thing for the inshore bite right now is catch more bait than what you think you’d need so you can chum a little or toss out a hand full if you want to see if there are any fish around. If  you’ve found a schools of reds, position yourself up current and place some cut bait on 7″ – 8″ circle hooks. Stick that rod in the rod holder and crack a cool beverage and chat with your fishing buddy until that rod bends over and the drag screams like a banshee. The most common mistake when fishing circle hooks is “setting the hook.” I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve told people that they are over fishing a circle hook. I promise you you’ll pull that hook almost every time.  For the reds, look for them along bars and up on the grass flats. If you’re quiet and have a little patience, they will show you where they are while they’re feeding. There’s a distinct difference between a mullet tail and a red’s tail. Mullet are constantly moving and for the most part will not have their whole tail out of the water… only a tip or a bit more. Reds barely move their tail and will range from just the tip to the entire tail out as they root around in the grass for food. This is the fun part… because you can stake the boat and sneak up on them… pitch that bait… and boom! Fish on!

Keep your eyes open for some really good snook fishing.  Linesiders are making their move inside after that last cold front and will start fattening up preparing for the winter slow down.  Find moving water and you will find snook.  Look in areas like creek mouths, troughs, docks, and other structure. More than likely you’ll find live bait works best, but still keep a few topwater baits handy.

Other than live bait, fish soft plastic on a lead jig head around the edge of the grass flats and pot holes. I like to throw Mirrolure’s scented 3-3/4″ Lil John soft plastic twitch bait rigged with 1/8th oz jig head and with the wind howling you’ll still be able to make very respectable casts.  Water clarity is going to dictate which color you want to use and these are a few of my recommendations for our area…new penny, root beer and lastly  gold and glitter.

Out on the beaches and out several miles be on the lookout for bonita, black fin tuna, spanish and king mackerel. Mackerel are making their fall run and are in big numbers and offer a great opportunity to bend a rod. Scoop up a few nets of big threadfin herring and see why we call them “smoker kings”. Just look for the birds and keep your head on a swivel while running from one spot to another and I’m sure you’ll spot them with ease.

If you’re ready to get out and see how Kelly and I do it, give us a jingle at 941-698-0323. You may also find us on Facebook, Instagram or our web page www.FloridaInshoreXtream.com. Well folks, you know the deal…gotta get on out and get my FIX on! So … tight lines and y’all stay safe!!

Capt. Jesse McDowall
Florida Inshore Xtream Charter services
941-698-0323
jesse@fixcharters.com

Englewood Redfish
Englewood Redfish

For most of our anglers fishing fix we’ve been using whitebait and shrimp for plenty of trout and other inshore species. With these darker waters we’ve had over the past few months it can be difficult for the fish to visually locate food at distances more than a foot or so. That’s where the noise of the popping cork comes into play. Not only do fish feed by sight but also by smell, vibrations and more importantly… sounds of other feeding fish. With a popping cork, you provide almost all of the sense stimuli they normally use to feed. One of the most common mistakes I see on a regular basis with these noisy fish magnets is folks not leaving the bait in the same general area. How this is supposed to work is simple…Make a cast and with minimal movement to the bait, pop the cork with enough force to actually make a “pop” but not pull the bait off the hook. It should sound like a fish strike if you’ve done it correctly. Also this needs to be done without moving the whole rig more than a few inches from where you first made the original entry. Remember, you’re trying to call the fish to your bait and if you’re moving it 5 ft every time you pop that cork… well, you have defeated the purpose of the noise attractant. As far as rigging, I like to make my leaders (fluorocarbon) length close to but not on the bottom or in the grass. You want your bait to be easily seen when the noise draws them in for a closer investigation, not tangled up or able to hide in the weeds. Trying to fish mid column would be a more accurate description. Finish those popper corks with a split shot weight in the middle of the leader, a 4/0 to 6/0 circle hook and a live bait. Look for current rips at creek mouths, pot holes, grass flats and channels along mangroves.

For those early morning risers… you’re gonna do great throwing top water baits like the Heddon spooks, the One knocker spook and the spook jr in the bone color. You may also want to grab some live shrimp at your local bait shops like Gasparilla Marina or the Dearborn corner market. Stop by and see my good friend Taylor and his lovely wife Cindy and tell them Capt Jesse sent ya. They’ve got “bait till late.”

For the rest of our inshore news… still getting reports of quality redfish caught in places like the west wall and on up into Lemon and Sarasota Bay. Fish around structure like docks and up around the mangroves. Redfish will frequent our flats, bays and creek mouths in their quest for food. Look for them to be tailing in pods exceeding 30 fish. If you are finding them finicky… as they sometimes can be, a large live shrimp or chunked ladyfish still remain favorite “go to” baits. You might try Mirro-lure’s scented 3-3/4″ lil’ john soft plastic twitch bait, as it’s been the go to bait as we’ve fished these dark waters… rigged with 1/8th oz jig heads and the wind howling, still we were able to make very respectable casts. You can really sling that sucker without fear of it sliding off the jig head. Pending on the water clarity you’re fishing, colors like new penny, root beer and pink silver seem to be the ticket.

Don’t forget to take a peek out on the beaches. Bonita, Spanish mackerel, and king mackerel are migrating in big numbers and offer a great opportunity to bend a rod. Nearshore is the easiest way to find fish right now…just look for the birds. We’re still seeing tons of birds working mixed bags of big ol’ spanish and king mackerel, jacks and bonito from just outside of the passes… on out to about 3 miles. Remember to keep a stout outfit rigged and “at the ready” …you never know when that bruiser cobia will stop by to see what all the commotion is about. I’ll keep one of my Penn Spinfisher V 6500 on stand-by with a 7/0 circle hook with 50 lb leader just for this reason. More times than not they will absolutely knock the snot out of a piece of cut bait or a jig tipped with a hunk of squid.

If you’re ready to get out and see how we do it you can call us at 941-698-0323. You can also find Capt Kelly and I on Facebook, Instagram or our web page www.FloridaInshoreXtream.com. Well folks, you know the deal…gotta get on out and get my FIX on! So … tight lines and y’all stay safe!!

Capt. Jesse McDowall
Florida Inshore Xtream Charter services
941-698-0323
jesse@fixcharters.com

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Hello again folks, Capt Jesse McDowall here. This time of year is my most favorite because here in SW Florida we have, yup… you guessed it, schools of big ol’ redfish!

When targeting redfish, my personal favorite bait for flats and back country are topwater lures. The best conditions for throwing these lures are the first few hours after sun up and when overcast conditions prevail. I like to throw top water baits like Heddon’s 4.5 Spook XT, Spook One Knocker, and Spook Jr. There is no substitute for the excitement and adrenaline rush when a huge snook or redfish crush that bait. Retrieving the lure is going to take a little practice. First and foremost let’s talk about what type of rod you should use. Graphite rods are much lighter than glass and won’t fatigue your arm after 5 casts. I like a graphite 7’ medium action rod with a fast tip. Work the lure in a “walk the dog” action and at a slow cadence. Most importantly, if a fish strikes at the lure… try your best not to jerk the rod to set the hook. This has hazards. If the fish misses that topwater, now you have 6 hooks approaching your head at a high rate of speed. Secondly, now you’ve just missed a second shot at that fish because it would have likely struck again if it didn’t feel the hooks. I’ve had redfish swat at a lure 5 or 6 times before finally getting hooked. As your fishing partner is laughing at you tangled up in your line, they’ve taken the opportunity to toss their bait on that fish you just missed.

As the sun creeps up into the sky, I’ll change over to scented soft plastic baits with an eighth ounce jig head. Work it in a twitch pause… twitch pause… type of pattern and you’ll see most of your strikes will occur on the drop. The key to this retrieve is to keep light tension on the line as the bait falls to the grass or sand and then a quick snap to make that bait “hop” out of the grass.

Offshore reports are still nothing less than excellent. We are seeing a lot of grouper and snapper on most of our known reefs as close in as 3 miles out! Gags and reds are being caught on trolling lipped plugs down to 30 feet and grouper will flat out rough up some live pinfish, squirrel fish, squid or any cut bait that you can get down to them. These guys are pretty territorial, so if you do manage to pull a good sized fish mark that spot and fish around it. If fishing hard bottom, more than likely that J.Y.D. has staked his claim and pushed out the smaller pups. Odds are you won’t pull another right there but they will be somewhat close by.

Nearshore, the easiest way to find fish right now is look for the birds. We’ve had great success with a mixed bag of big king and spanish mackerel, permit and bonito from just outside of the passes… on out to about 3-6 miles. Some of the nearshore reefs are still smokin’ hot. The mangrove snapper are still easy to chum up and the best way I’ve found to trick these sneaky rascals if you choose not to chum is very simple. Use ¼ to ½ oz lead jig heads with 20 inches of 20-30 lb fluorocarbon and a live shrimp. Pinch off the tail and thread him on the hook like you would a soft plastic. Drop down until you hit bottom and then lift about a foot. Hold it as still as you can and wait for that infamous peck peck peck … lift slightly and if there is weight, stick him!

Remember to keep a stout outfit rigged and “at the ready” …you never know when that bruiser cobia will stop by to see what all the commotion is about. I’ll keep one of my Penn Spinfisher V 6500 on stand-by with a 7/0 circle hook with 50 lb leader just for this reason. More times than not they will absolutely knock the snot out of a piece of cut bait or a jig tipped with a hunk of squid.

If you’re ready to get out and see how we do it you can call us at 941- 698- 0323. Find me on Facebook, Instagram or my web page www.FloridaInshoreXtream.com. Well folks, you know the deal…gotta get on out and get my FIX on! So … tight lines and y’all stay safe!!

Capt. Jesse McDowall
Florida Inshore Xtream Charter services
941-698-0323
https://www.floridainshorextream.com

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Fishing the past few weeks has been phenomenal! As discussed in the last fishing report, the nearshore bite is still on fire. Keeper mangrove and lane snapper along with red and gag grouper are still being caught within 10 miles.

The inshore bite is starting to heat up. With fall approaching, you know what that means…large schools of redfish roaming the flats in search of food. We’ve been seeing several large schools already in the Gasparilla Sound area and boy are they hungry. Toss whatever you can find into the school and you’re sure to hook up…topwaters, spoons, popper corks, jigs…you name it. When those reds are hungry, it doesn’t matter. Finding these reds, on the other hand, can sometimes be tricky if you aren’t sure what to look for. To the untrained eye, the schools will appear to be mullet schools. However, the redfish will push a much larger wake and will show more disturbance in the water. When you find a school, take a couple of minutes to determine their direction of travel (if any). Get upwind and position your boat to drift towards them. Motoring toward/into them will only spook them and make your goal of catching one even harder.

There’s still plenty of snook and trout around as well. Stay close to the passes and you’ll find cleaner water and a lot of bait. Snook like moving water to feed so find those areas where there’s current. Present your bait/lure with the current so it appears natural to the fish. Snook are very smart! Get out early and throw a Zara Spook topwater (bone color) and get ready for some heart racing action. If you prefer live bait, net up some white bait and put one on a free line. I like to use a 5/0 circle hook…smaller if the bait is smaller. If you want a family fun day on the water, take the kids trout fishing. Find a grass flat 3-5ft deep and tie on a Bomber Saltwater Grade Paradise Popper with shrimp or white bait. Be sure to pop the cork every 15-20 seconds to make some commotion. Well folks, get out there and get your FIX on.

Florida Inshore Xtream charters
https://www.floridainshorextream.com
941-698-0323


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