Well, as predicted, the water has cleaned up and the bite has been on fire! Large numbers of trout are being caught on top-water plugs. Tarpon and redfish have still been good in Ponce Inlet, but will start to slow down as the water temperature cools. Cobia should start making an appearance on the beach; be on the lookout for tripletail on the channel markers, too.
Capt. Mike Mann
Active Bull Reds
In Ponce Inlet/New Smyrna Beach, the bull redfish bite continues to be strong, so this is the time to get that fish of a lifetime! Snook, tarpon, and some nice-sized mangrove snapper are all also great targets in the inlet right now. With the cooling weather, it’s also a great time to fish for trouts and reds in the lagoon.
Bulls Stacking In Inlet
It’s that time of the year when the bull reds stack up inside of Ponce Inlet. These fish have some shoulders so beef up your tackle so you can land them quickly and get them back in the water as soon as possible for a safe release. Don’t be surprised while targeting these big reds if you lock horns with a nice snook or tarpon as well. They always make for some added fun! Inside the Mosquito Lagoon, the trout fishing has also been very good. We’ve been having a lot of success first thing in the morning in throwing Zman paddle-tails and Rapala Skitterwalks.
Over-sized and Upper Slot Redfish
The fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon has been good this week with lots of over-sized and upper slot redfish as well as some really nice sea trout. The Reds have been coming on either live finger mullet or cut mullet, and the trout have come on live finger mullet or a bone colored Skitterwalk. Ponce Inlet should be calm for a while and has been loaded with tarpon, as well as bull redfish and snook. If you want to get a 40 inch redfish or a tarpon off your bucket list, now through mid to late November is the time to do it!
SIGNS OF THE FALL MULLET RUN…
Fishing has been great post Dorian and the storm’s passing may have just officially kicked off the mullet run. Tarpon are feeding on large to medium mullet and snook have been hitting the finger to medium-sized mullet. Look for schools of jacks and blues to be showing up to feed on the pods of mullet — it’s always exciting to watch as they fiercely explode on the bait fish!
PONCE — NOW’S THE TIME FOR A BULL RED!
The early morning topwater bite has been strong. I’ve had a lot of success throwing Rapala Skitterwalks in the bone color while targeting pods of bait. If you want to catch a bull redfish, then now is the time to do it! Over the next month or two, the breeders will be stacking in Ponce Inlet. The tripletail bite should be starting to turn on, too — if the seas calm down. Tarpon are also still around and should be for at least another month or two. No doubt, Fall is a great time to get out do some fishing!