Fall Fly Fishing is some of the best to take advantage of on the West Coast of Florida. Fishing in September continues summer trends and is red hot. We got our first glimpse of cooler weather and north winds and saw a few cloudy, rainy cold fronts move in. Fish use these fronts to stage up, feed, and move in between locations to prepare for winter.
Redfishing
Fall Fly Fishing is at its best when the winds calm in between the fronts. Targeting redfish has led to great days more than one day throughout the month. These fish are schooling heavily on grass flats popping shrimp, small baitfish, and crabs. Fish have been very happy tailing in extremely shallow water. We’ve seen more than one day with shots at “belly crawling” fish that can be seen with their backs out of the water. Fish are also aggressively tailing on shallow shorelines near mangroves looking for crabs. It’s important to match your fly to the bottom type to target these fish. Heavier crab patterns have been getting the job done on sandy/muddy bottoms. Switch to a lighter shrimp or baitfish fly over heavy grass or on potholes.
Snook FIshing
Snook have begun staging and moving into their winter haunts. The water temperature does not necessarily reflect this. But fish have been hanging out around creek mouths and into residential canals and rivers. Look for pockets and points around feeder creeks that dive back into areas with deeper water or natural springs. I like throwing bigger mullet and baitfish flies to this fish and usually keep a rod rigged and ready when we get into zones that hold these snook.
Speckled Trout
The Fall is also one of my favorite time times to target big speckled trout on the fly. These fish move into shallow areas and stage on potholes, points, and shallow shorelines with rock piles as they begin to move into warmer areas for the winter. It is not uncommon to move into a school or bigger speckled trout while searching for redfish. Use the same shrimp or baitfish imitations in these areas for a good speckled trout bite.
Other Species
September included a Juvenile Tarpon Tournament put on by Tampa Bay Waterkeeper and Barfly called Poonfecta. The proceeds of the tournament go to protecting juvenile tarpon habitat in the Tampa Bay Area. It’s a fun, fly only tournament where you target juvenile tarpon of specific lengths. My partner and I caught the perfect length fish, with the second fastest time. We had a ton of fun targeting these awesome fish around the state and look forward to next year!
September also included a short grouper season. I got to take advantage of the season in my Beavertail Air and targeted some nature coast shallow rock piles. We caught a few keepers and had a ton of fun pulling on these fish. Shallow grouper are incredibly hard fighting fish and are green all the way to the boat. It’s some of the most fun fishing we have in the area.
Weather
Fall Fly fishing gives us the nicest weather of the year. Consistently warm, but not hot days with lighter winds in between fronts. Grab yourself a day and enjoy the weather before the cold fronts get more frequent and the fish get moodier!
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