Fishing Reports for Tampa Bay, October Forecast What we will be catching

October 2011

The temperature of inshore waters in St Joseph Sound and Clearwater Bay are cooling down. The main reason is the days are shorter and there’s a lot less sun light. Hopefully we maintain some type of consistent weather. Look for our local flats fish to start shifting into their fall patterns. The magic water temperature is just below 80.

Snook are on the move as well. As the water temperature cools expect these fish to move away from the beaches and passes to fall or pre winter locations. Explore the spoil islands in the bay and investigate lots of docks on the east side and cuts leading into the backwaters. Live white bait and shrimp may be your ticket to catching the linesiders.

Redfish will show up in bigger numbers on the usual grass flats all around the bay. Search flats with grass and sand holes and scattered oyster beds along a mangrove shore line. Stealth is the way to go when approaching a redfish school. Best live baits are sardines or small pin fish and even fresh cut bait works great. If you find schools of redfish, they should remain in that general location of the bay through November.

Trout fishing on the flats will improve in Oct. and get much better next month as the water temp cools further. Trout move into the bays in the fall and winter and supply plenty of action. Search areas around 3 to 4 feet deep with grass bottom. You may have to cover a lot of ground to find them but when you do, there will be a lot of fish in the school. They can't resist a well-placed artificial with noise and flash.

Fall fishing can be the most exciting time to be out on the water. You can pick your species to target and most of the time you will find and catch’em. And just think, there are no 95 degree temperatures to worry about. Enjoy.

Capt. Gary
www.allcatchcharters.com