In S.W. Florida, we cal this time of year Red October. To explain this has nothing to do with the moon or tide - just the presence of Redfish. Yes, it is the time of year that the reds school up and come into shore to feed up on the large schools of bait along the coast and harbor. You may find them out in the Gulf or on the East side of Charlotte Harbor and any where between where there is food to eat. This is the time of year you carry a full arsenal of tackle from fly rods to live bait stuff. When you find the reds, use as many different methods as possible to catch them as it is a blast. A few years ago I was in a pack of boats with seven people hooked up at the same time while I was using my fly rod. That is a great memory for me.  It was crazy fun catching twenty-eight inches of pulling Pitt Bull Redfish. You may encounter these guys not far from from Stump to Redfish Pass, just inside Lemon Bay, Gasparilla Sound, or Pine Island Sound. These schools look like schools of mullet some times pushing through the water. Also inshore this month look for snook, trout and flounder. And for those of you that will brave diving at night, Stone crab season opens on the 15th at 12:01 am - claws have to be 2 3/4" or bigger to harvest. Your limit is 1 gal. of claws per harvester, or 2 gal. per vessel. Two divers can do this in an hour in the proper environment.  Always check the regulations to have the current updates because you are responsible and ignorance is not a viable lack of compliance. Lets look at what is along the Coastal waters. As the waters start to cool, the migratory species like spanish and king mackerel will start their southern migration, so look for large schools of fish thrashing the surface. This could be spanish and kings feeding on the schools of bait, so trolling the edges of the feeding frenzy will help to harvest some fish. There should be plenty of snapper -  lanes and mangrove - on the close reefs out to 60' of water. Grouper, reds and gags out to 75'. Oh yea after the stone crab guys set there traps watch as you pass the buoys for a garbage bag looking thing hanging on the line it maybe a triple tail. Ease up into casting range and throw something alive and don't set the hook till you feel it, not when you see it take the bait. (Hint Hint) So if you would like to try or learn how to do some of these things, call Capt. Bart Marx.  I can take you on my boat or go along with you on yours. Call 941-979-6517 or e-mail captbart@alphaomegacharters.com Always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile.<*((((()>{

Red October in SW Florida, can be a difficult time to decide what to fish for inshore - reds, snook, trout, or flounder to name a few. But lots of anglers focus on Redfish in October. The reds come to feed up on the bait that is so plentiful in our area. You can find them in large schools from Matlacha to Ponce De Leon Park and from Lemon Bay to Pine Island Sound. It can be very exciting when you get set up on a large school tossing lures on a fly rod or spinning rod. When you have a live-well full of bait you can have a blast. I can remember a time when I was fishing one of these schools along with several other boats. There were six anglers hooked up at the same time and I had one on my fly rod. That can happen to those that spend some time on the water and keep track of these schools. This month also can be lots of fun out in the Gulf where the mackerel, spanish and kings migrate south as the waters cool down. Trolling for these toothy critters is a blast. You can rig a white jig in-front of a spoon to harvest spanish two at a time while trolling along the northern bar of Boca Grande. Or you can rig up to catch kings using a no.1 planer with wire in front of and back with six feet of line and then wire and a king spoon. These fish have lots of teeth and wire will save you some bite offs. Troll these around the schools of bait and harvest some mackerel. Once in a while you may find a school of the breeder Redfish too. As you venture out into the Gulf waters of 50 to 70 feet, and can find some red and gag grouper. And 30 to 60 feet on artificial reefs and small ledges you can find lane and mangrove snapper. And for those of you that scuba dive, stone crab season opens on the 15th. at 12:01 am when you can do a night dive to harvest these great tasting claws. One gallon per harvester or two gallons per boat at 2 3/4" or bigger claws. If you would like to fish with Capt. Bart Marx call me at 941-979-6517. I can go on your boat or you can go on mine. Or e-mail captbart@alphaomegacharters.com Always remember that singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*((((()>{