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Venice Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico
Capt. Dave Pinkham
September 23, 2002
Venice - Saltwater Fishing Report
October Offshore Gulf Fishing Forecast
With October just around the corner, I can't help but to get a little excited. As the daylight hours began to get a little shorter each day, air and water temperatures will begin to start cooling down. As this happens, it's as if an internal trigger goes off signaling to fish that they should begin moving in preparation for the cooler months ahead. This annual fall migration of sorts will put a wide variety of fishes within striking distance for anglers in the know. With this said, following is a list of some of the different species of fish that should make a strong showing during the month of October.
- Grouper are sort of the "meat and potatoes" when it comes to fishing out here on the Gulf of Mexico. The ocean floor west of our area is like a huge flat sandy desert. Scattered randomly across these underwater barrens are pockets of rocky bottom, coral grasses, limestone ledges, shipwrecks and artificial reefs. These pockets of bottom structure are exactly the type of environment that groupers congregate on. Anglers on a grouper hunt in reality should be in search of this bottom structure, and need to be proficient with their fish-finder/bottom machine. When a change in the contour of the bottom is noted, try dropping some weighted baits to the bottom and hold on.
- Snapper are also a much sought after fish species on the Gulf. Many of the same bottom structures that hold grouper will often harbor snapper. Zooming in your bottom machine to concentrate on the lower water column is the best way to spot a show of snapper. When a school of snappers such as mangroves is stacked up over a ledge they will often appear on the fish finder screen as a "hair ball", or "Christmas tree".
- Blackfin tuna normally make a pretty good showing in October. Best bet to catch them will be to start looking in at least 100-feet of water. Look for action near or at the surface. The two methods that have worked for me in the past are trolling spoons and lures, and free-lining live baits. Blackfin also seem to like to hand around remnants of wrecks, probably because of the abundance of baitfish in these areas.
- King mackerel have made a tremendous recovery in the last 10 years. Over the next month we should see some decent schools of kings starting to show up. Normally the best water depths to locate the main schools of kings is in 35' feet to 65' feet of water.
- Cobia are a local favorite, and hopefully in the next few weeks we should see some showing up along the beaches and offshore wrecks. Cobia can be rather cautious at times, but will usually fall for a well presented live bait such as a grunt or pinfish.
- Bluewater type fishes such as sailfish, wahoo, and dolphin will make for standout catches for those anglers with the boat to get out to deeper water. I would suggest in your quest for these species, to start looking out past the 100-foot mark. Plan these deep-water runs on calm flat days as it's often much easier to spot fish at the surface.
Remember, if you're too busy to go fishing you're just too busy! Get out and go fishin cuz' it's good fer ya!
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