October is a month of transition with many species of fish on the move. Snook will begin to move into bays as water temperature cools towards the end of the month. Reds will still be schooling and will be roaming shallow and deep grass flats. Tarpon may feed heavily along beaches before leaving for the winter as southbound baitfish move into our area. Migratory species such as Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and cobia will also get in on the act feeding on the same baitfish.

Snook will begin to move into bays and stage around docks and bridges close to passes particularly towards the end of the month. You’ll also find them on shallow grass flats and along mangrove shorelines and sand bars. As long as the water temperature is above 75 degrees, you will also find snook in the surf. When snook start to move away from beaches and the surf, it is usually a gradual thing, based not only on water temperature but also on length of days (sunlight). I like to fish at night around lighted docks and bridge fenders towards the end of the month. The slight drop in water temperature stimulates snook into feeding more heavily. Small white flies, plastic baits and a variety of live baits will all work well. Surface walking plugs and fly poppers are good choices on shallow flats, around sand bars and along sand bars. The area from Sarasota to Venice is one of my favorite areas for snook.
 

Reds will still be schooling early in the month but will start to scatter on the flats by the end of the month. Look for schools along sand bars and on shallow flats. A school of reds may look like a boat wake rolling towards you or may be as subtle as a nervous or slick patch of water. When you get closer to them, you may see a tell tale “orange” spot in the water. Schools of reds are tougher to find in deeper water. They may erupt on bait schools and feed heavily in them, much like a school of jacks or bluefish. They may even have large jacks and blues mixed with them. Another way to find reds in deeper water is to cast a top water plug or fly popper in the area, which may cause the school to rise up and strike at your offering. Jigs with plastic tails, spoons, plugs and a variety of live baits will work well for reds. I like to cover water with jigs to locate them. You can do the same thing with a Clouser fly, although you should start with shorter casts and work out to avoid “lining” them.
 

Trout fishing should also improve as days get shorter and water temperatures cool slightly toward the end of the month. When it is hot trout will usually be found in deeper water. During October they will spend more time feeding in shallow water. The largest trout will usually be found in skinny water when light is low at dawn and dusk. They can be targeted with top water plugs and fly poppers. Smaller trout will usually be a little deeper although they may have some large trout mixed with them since large trout may eat smaller ones. I like to cast jigs, clacker floats with plastic baits and flies ahead of my drift to locate trout on deep grass flats. You should also find a good mixture of a variety of fish, including jacks, ladyfish and bluefish, in the same areas. I like to cast around bait schools or look for birds diving and fish feeding on the surface for the fastest action. The area from lower Tampa Bay to north Sarasota Bay is my favorite area to fish for reds and trout.
 

Tarpon will still be an option during October. Juvenile tarpon will be found in creeks and canals of upper Charlotte Harbor. Look for fish rolling on the surface to indicate their presence and cast jigs, plastic baits or flies to them. I find most small tarpon in deep water, so I use a fast sinking fly line to get my fly close to the bottom quickly. Another area that you may find tarpon in is around bridges. The structure of bridge pilings will hold baitfish and they will go there to feed. You may find large tarpon in deeper areas of Gasparilla Sound and Charlotte Harbor. Look for schools of bait, diving birds and rolling fish to find them. As baitfish migrate south towards the end of the month and exit bays, tarpon may feed in them along beaches. I have experienced great tarpon fishing in upper charlotte harbor and along our beaches in October. Tarpon are in a feeding mode this month as many of them prepare for their long migration away from our area. I prefer to cast plastic baits and flies to them and try to duplicate the baitfish that they are feeding on. They are toughest to catch when they are feeding in glass minnows. I have been successful on tarpon with my night snook fly, Grassett’s Snook Minnow, tied on a larger hook that is capable of holding a tarpon when they were feeding on glass minnows.
 

Pompano might also show up this month in the surf and on deep grass flats. They may “skip” on the surface over deep grass flats as you drift or run past them with your boat. When that happens, circle around and drift back through the area and cast jigs or flies ahead of your drift. I like a mixture of grass and sand, rather than just thick grass, when targeting pompano. You might also find them in the surf cruising in the trough where it is possible to sight cast to them.
 

As the water temperature cools down towards the end of the month, baitfish will exit bays and migrate south along the coast with Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, little tunny and cobia following them. Look for diving birds or fish feeding on the surface to find them. Terns are the best indicators since they need to find baitfish on the surface to feed on them. If you can’t find anything on the surface, you can drift or anchor over structure and fish live baits, lures or flies. Sarasota and e counties have extensive artificial reef systems that start as close to the beach as one mile and go out beyond 20 miles. The nice thing about fishing in the coastal gulf at this time of the year is that you should find bait and predator fish close to the beach.
 

We really live in a great place. There is something to do every month of the year and October is no exception. I particularly like the end of the month when cooler water temperatures will jump start everything. You might want to consider fishing the 2008 Fall Fly Fishing Challenge on Nov. 1st, a low stress, fun filled fly fishing tournament that also raises money for CCA's conservation efforts and Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers Scholarship Fund.