October 2013 Anna Maria Island Fishing Report

 October is finally here and the long-awaited cooler weather is around the corner. The water temps in the Gulf of Mexico have dropped to around 80 degrees. This slight drop has triggered a feed. Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle, blue runners and bonito are corralling bait schools around the beaches. Look for diving birds to locate the fish. Numerous shark are mixed in with these migratory fish, so we have been bringing heavy rods to catch a few of these great fighters.

On the flats, snook, redfish and trout are responding to live shiners and pinfish free-lined behind the boat. My clients and I have been finding schooling reds along mangrove shoreline with good water flow. Look for big snook in these areas, too. Spotted seatrout can be found on shallow flats early in the morning. Top water plugs are a cool way to target these yellow-mouthed fish. As the sun has climbed in the sky, we have moved to deeper flats and switch to soft plastics on a jighead.