Everglades City & Chokoloskee - October Fishing
Capt. Charles Wright
October 7, 2008
Everglades City - Saltwater Fishing Report
As I sat down to write the forecast for October, as I always do, I looked back over my notes, the Park Catch/Release Records we are required to submit and,this time, some of the archived fishing reports on the ChokoloskeeCharters.com website.
What jumps out to me is how very laxed I have been about post reports on the website ... doing do it way too infrequently. But what also jumps out is how, historically, how good the fishing actually has been in October.
October is our big transition month. We start seeing the winter species, but still all the summer species. We can catch tarpon, snook and redfish in the mornings inside and then permit, cobia and mackerel outside late. It is the perfect month for the "Inside Out" trip.
Three things highlight October … aggressive snook, arrival of the Brown Marlin (cobia) and the beginning of camping season. Oct 4th is our first camping trip and frankly, we are so excited we can not stand ourselves!!
Every Friday thru Sunday this season we are doing out boat assisted kayak fishing camping trips. We use the transport boats to bring up to six anglers, six kayaks, all the needed camping gear and super coolers filled with some seriously good grub. This is luxury camping with six inch air mattresses, Kobe steak burgers, adult beverages, you get the idea. They are, simply put, a blast. They are also the best "bang for the buck" with three days of guided fishing opportunities all accommodations and provisions. You can fish all day and all night if you desire, but you also can spend some quality time around the campfire!
October really is a great time to fish the ‘Glades … This is a excerpt from an archive October fishing report … past history, not just a forecast.
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Sunday, October 27, 2002 (http://www.chokoloskeecharters.com/2002_10_01_reports.htm)
Brown Marlin Season!!
October is in full swing with lots of redfish along the shorelines and oyster bars. A tipped jig seems the be the best bait now, as the water is turbid. The rains have all but gone and the glades are nearing the bottom of the flush. This has been producing lots of turbidity in the water making sight fishing a bit
tough as of late.
However, there have been lots of white bait around, especially the ever-favorite "saw-bellied" pilchards. If the baits are big enough, try hooking them from underneath near the bottom fin. This way they will swim away from the line and tend to dive. It is great a way to send a bait under a mangrove canopy for snook and redfish. If you do not get a strike on the first few passes ... move!! This technique also allows you to fish very close to the mangroves by easily controlling the bait's movement.
While poling the shorelines, I have definitely seem an increase in the number of nice sheep head and small drum. I am not a big fan of using shrimp because of all the "by-catch", but they are a sure-fire method of taking these fish.
The snook bite fell off around the full moon but has picked up nicely recently. This time of year the snook fight their best. They are fatting up, well past their spawn and are very healthy. While typically not as heavy as a spring or summer fish, they run farther, jump higher and strike harder. My favorite time of the year for snook. The fishing in the inside waters has been consistent for us though not red hot. The outside seems to be following the same pattern.
The "gummers" have just begun to move in. Though I have not located the big pods yet. We are getting one or two shots at the cobia just about every trip ... enough to make the effort worth while, but not like the typical half dozen shots we should be seeing anytime now. The pods are here, I just have not found them. I am taking the airplane up today for a look around ... I'll find them today!!! After all it is Brown Marlin Season!!!
I have had a couple of anglers come from Naples fly fishing and a few others from PA fly in for the everglades fly fishing. It has been real consistent, with good numbers of small snook and tarpon, as well as. lots of trout, ladyfish, mackerel and jacks. None have taken the time to fish offshore. That is a real shame because the excellent permit fishery.
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