From all indications, this should be an ideal fall fishing weekend. With light winds and water temperatures in the low 70s, as my friend captain Scott Moore might say, “The fish will be very happy.”

This should be an excellent weekend to head offshore. Just don’t go too far. From what I’m hearing, there’s an excellent grouper bite in the rock piles close to shore. Also in nearshore waters are vast numbers of large Spanish and king mackerel. Just look for diving birds and troll your lure or live offering through the big bait schools.

At area fishing piers, hordes of Spanish mackerel and the occasional king have been keeping lines tight, especially on the incoming tide, at both Skyway piers as well as at Fort DeSoto’s Gulf Pier.

With warming surface temperatures, wadefishing should also be comfortable and productive on the many shorelines of Fort DeSoto. The same would also be true along most area causeways and big bridges.

Kayak guide Neil Taylor reports that “large bluefish have been part of the game on the flats. Blues of 22 to 24 inches have been caught a couple of days in a row. Redfish have been a little tougher than they should be. Rumor has it that they are eating live shrimp and refusing all other offers.”

Taylor added: “There are so many pinfish in our waters, there should be no need to use shrimp as bait for any reason.”

Just a few weeks remain before snook season closes for December and January. They have made their way to backcountry shallows. Working creeks, rivers and canals around Tampa Bay should provide some late-season snook action.