 |
Venice Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico
Capt. Dave Pinkham
September 9, 2003
Venice - Saltwater Fishing Report
Plenty of Offshore Fishing Choices in September
One of the major reasons I love living along the west coast of Florida is the large variety of fishing opportunities we have available on the Gulf of Mexico. There is rarely a waking hour that goes by when I’m not either fishing or at least dreaming of a past or future fishing trip. The crazy thing is, way back when 37 years ago at the tender age of eight as I cranked my first grouper up to the boat, little did I know that I would be hooked for life!
Following is a general list of some of the fish you can expect to catch out on the gulf in September. As you know catching fish is often contingent on how good a game plan you’ve put together, and of course, whether or not the fish are even cooperating.
Spanish mackerel and little tunny are plentiful right now offshore. Consider netting up some live shiners along the beach or ICW and heading out on the Gulf for some action. Anchoring the boat over hard bottom and free-lining the live bait on the surface works best. If action is slow or non-existent try chumming the water with some of the live shiners. Trolling silver spoons behind planning boards around known reef areas can be deadly.
Dolphin, also known as mahi-mahi usually move up the coast within our reach this time of year. Your best bet will to start looking for them at least 20 miles offshore. They often will hang around large bunches of sargassum grass so keep your eyes peeled. One way to fish for them is to pull up along side the grass and sight cast to fish as they swim just below the surface. You can also troll along the weed lines. September seems to be a hot month for catching mahi.
Blackfin tuna, wahoo, and sailfish should all be making some sort of showing inside the 50-mile line. For the boatload of anglers that consistently drag lines with good trolling techniques luck will be in their favor as this is a great time of the year. Obvious areas to troll will be along floating weedlines and in areas where bait schools either are showing at the surface of the water or down below indicated on the fish finder.
Trigger Fish are some of the best eating fish I can think of. The best locations to find them are hanging around rock piles, ledges, and the artificial reefs. Because they have small mouths be sure to rig down on terminal tackle accordingly. Best baits are shrimp, shiners, and squid.
Snapper fishing is a great way to put dinner on the table and this is the time to do it. Some of the best fishing holes will be hard bottom, ledges, springs, and wrecks. Snappers such as mangroves and yellow tail can be somewhat finicky at times so use as light as gear as possible. For leader materials consider using fluorocarbon as it is less visible to the fish. When conditions are right, night fishing over wrecks in the periods around the full moon can be very productive. Natural baits such as crabs, shrimp, shiners, and squid are hard to beat.
Red Grouper fishing has been excellent during the past month. Drift fishing over hard bottom is a great way to locate these bruisers. Once located you can re-drift the same area or anchor down. Red grouper are known to eat just about any kind of natural bait. A good fishing method I’ve found to use when drift fishing is to tip a weighted jig with squid or a strip of little tunny.
Remember to keep an eye out for changing weather conditions. When you see the skies starting to fill up with darkening clouds, it may be time to head for the hill.
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
