We had "cool change" fair weather, great fishing now
Capt. Van Hubbard
October 29, 2008
Boca Grande - Saltwater Fishing Report
10-29-08 web report
Cooler weather invades Southwest Florida but we will have good fishing.
We are experiencing a cold front that has dropped our temperature to record chills. This will move fish around and change the game but should actually help most fishing. We have had too much baitfish while it was good for offshore fishing our inside gamefish were full all the time. This cold spell is dropping our water temps and will send many minnows south. Snook, reds and trout are going to have to change their diet to shrimp and pinfish. It's the time to sharpen the hooks on our lures and put plastics back in our lineup. I do expect to get back into the mackerel action by tomorrow, the 30th. Winds have stirred up the Gulf but things will settle fast as the winds shift to offshore. Pompano should move in now also.
This is as cold, in October, as we have had since records were kept so fish will react to the water temp drop. Our inside fish will hide in deeper holes and come out hungry this afternoon or tomorrow afternoon. The weekend will warm up dramatically and fish will eat aggressively. Trout closes on Saturday, the First of November, but snook and reds are open. It will be harder to catch minnows but the fish traditionally shift feeding patterns now anyway. I have some new Bagley Baits I am anxious to try out and this is the perfect time. Inside waters will clear up and we will enjoy some hot sight fishing.
I drove out to the beach last evening and observed the very rough confused seas; it will take most of today to start settling down. Waters are cooler but Gulf is huge and it's mass will not cool as fast as the bays. Our mack attack should kick back into full swing as soon as waters clear up. The sun is predicted to shine bright and warm up our afternoons starting today; mid and upper seventies for the rest of the week. I expect baitfish schools to come ashore pulling hungry macks and more along any day. We found a few pompano after the last blow and should have many more now. I may have to go looking this afternoon.
We had some hot action last week with David Conway of Florida Sportsman and Shallow Water Angler magazines and television. We got great video of hot king mackerel, (ten to twenty pounds), action on live minnows and circle hooks. We also caught three cobia, they were smaller but fun. David will let us know when segments will air next year. It was windy but from the northeast and off shore therefore fishable near shore. We had a bunch of flying kingfish in our chum line. The kings jumped all around the boat.
Let's Go Fishin' soon. Captain Van Hubbard
Boca Grande Fishing Forecast:
fair weather and sunny days predicted for weekend. we should have great fishing.
Target Species:
Spanish and king mackerel, sharks,reds, snook, cobia, pompano, and more.
More Fishing Reports:
