It's September! We're somehow already through 3/4 of the year and getting towards the end of "Hurricane Season" here in Southwest Florida but the daily rains are still making themselves known, which is fine by me, it gives me an excuse not to shower and take my time cleaning the boat.
Rain beers are the best beers. Actually, that's a lie... shower beers are the best beers. With any luck the heat will dip off a bit this month and I can get back to full days on the water instead of fishing just the mornings and evenings.
I'm about to head to Idaho to fish for smallmouth and cutthroat trout as I'm typing this and the last two times I left the state in September we got WHACKED sooo fingers crossed I don't curse us again.
Nobody emailed me about cooking anything with fire so I'll skip that for this month but the good news is you can boil an egg in the water right now, which is a great mid day snack.
September is my second favorite month of the year to be on the water (the first being April) because of the limitless opportunities of fish to target.
Water temps are stabilizing a bit, there are very few out of towners on the water, and typically the winds are calmer than the coming months before New Years and the onslaught of snowbirds that seek refuge from state income taxes and loud grandkids for six months out of the year.
September marks the beginning of a transitional period for weather patterns, and with that comes a change in fish patterns as well, plus it's the beginning of football season! For the love of Mike I hope Tom Brady finally retires #hangitupoldman.
Not just the NFL though, I'm talking about fat and happy football shaped redfish.
As I write this (at the end of August) I'm already beginning to see large schools of reds up and down Matlacha Pass.
Schools of twenty to sixty fish aren't uncommon, although this is a little earlier that I've began to see them in the past. Perhaps I was in some sort of tarpon tunnel vision? Who would have guessed?!
Oddly enough, I catch a good amount of my redfish on fly while I'm throwing at rolling juvenile tarpon. Go figure.
Sight fishing for reds at this time of year can be quite the challenge if you don't have a technical poling skiff that can get you way into the back country where the waters clear up a little bit, and to be honest they typically won't be hanging out in such skinny water just yet.
September temps are still prone to hanging around the high 80's and low 90's and the reds don't like jacuzzis, or the staff infection that comes with them around spring break.
Most of the fish you'll encounter will be on the flats between a main channel and the backcountry creeks.
The challenge to finding them with success comes from both the rains I mentioned earlier that will keep the waters stained with tannins making the fish harder to see, and the general higher water levels that come with the typical tides this time of year which gives the fish more room to spread out or seek refuge from the sun under the mangroves.
When I'm poling around on these open flats (typically on the middle part of the tide) I'm looking for large wakes along the shallow shore lines and for big pushes of nervous water inside the bar.
Many of these schools will be riding high and happy and you can spot them from a long way off. This is a great time to have a spinning rod or two rigged up with a topwater plug (a spook is my favorite) rigged with single inline hooks to avoid that pesky grass.
Not only can you toss these things a mile, but the explosive strike on top is a sight to behold. As an added bonus, some of these pushes of nervous water are big schools of giant jack crevalle. Those things kick ass. They're aggressive, fast, and fight hard. What's not to like?!
As for flies, this time of year I'll be throwing larger baitfish patterns to combat that stained water. Once the rain slows down towards the end of October and the water begins to clear up and bait starts to thin out, THEN I'll switch to crustacean flies.
I like to have a decent supply of 1/0 EP baitfish flies in black, black/purple, or the "everglades special" on hand at all times.
These flies have a large profile and also push water so the fish can find them easier, especially in low light situations. Having gurglers with a stout weed guard in the box is always a safe bet as well.
Typically I tie these in all white, it just flat out works year round so why change it?! I also tie these in a 1/0 on thin wire hooks so they don't get bogged down with the extra weight.
Cast these at points with moving water and shadow lines and be ready for a big snook to blast out and give you a heart attack.
There will still be tarpon around this month so keep an eye out for rollers in the usual places in the mornings before the sun comes up.
Once the lights are on it can be fun to target the snook over in the sound close to the passes where the water is cleaner, as they'll begin to move in from the beaches over the next few weeks.
If you'd like to get out and see what all the fuss is about feel free to give me a call or email. I'd love to get you out on the water!
Capt. Alex Moran
Spiritfly Fishing Charters
SW Florida
