by Capt. Matt Mitchell
What a crazy weather week we have had. If it wasn’t heavy rain, it was strong winds as Hurricane Isaias passed hundreds of miles away, bringing a few days of small-craft advisories. Even with Mother Nature’s ups and downs, fishing was on fire with the redfish bite basically nonstop.
Big high king tides are the perfect setup for catching redfish. I caught redfish all over in the Southern Sound this week from Redfish Pass to southern Matlacha Pass. The ups and downs of the weather kept me close to home most days, and even then, we got caught in heavy, fast-moving rains a few days.
The morning incoming tides proved to be the perfect setup to get on these redfish. Both oyster bars and mangroves all held lots and lots of them. When I fished either setup, I found redfish when I found mullet. One morning this week we caught over 20 reds on one single oyster bar while throwing live shiners. The next day, while hiding from the wind and rain, the reds preferred cut pinfish from the mangroves, and many were over the 27-inch slot.
This amazing redfish bite will continue through the entire month of October. Conditions have made it a little tough to fish many of my favorite snook spots, but once this storm passes and moves out, conditions will quickly improve and dry out, and we can get back to our normal fall fishing. With a crazy busy week in the books, I can’t wait for this to happen.
Right before the weather went down the tubes, tarpon had just started to pop up again in the southern sound. Most of these fish seemed to be around the schools of threadfin herring, and when it was calm, they could be found busting this bait. Large live pinfish pitched to these bait pods were the bait of choice fished under a float. When things get back to normal, expect at least another month of tarpon fishing before our first big cold front ends it.
Despite the funky weather, it’s been an extremely quiet hurricane season, and it was a big relief that Isaias passed well away from us. This weather event should mark the end of rainy season and hopefully bring some of the best fishing of the year.
Capt Matt Mitchell moved to Sanibel in 1980 and has lived in St. James City since 2000, when he started his fishing charter business. He spends over 300 days a year “living the dream” fishing. For questions and info: bookings@captmattmitchell.com
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