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NAVARREWe dodged another bullet with tropical storm Karen this weekend. Other than a little rain on Sunday the only real impact was firing up the inshore fishing. The rest of the week is looking pretty good, with light north winds and cool temperatures becoming the norm.
The cooler whether should get the flounder moving some so don’t leave home or the dock without your favorite flounder lure or a couple of dozen tiger minnows. Most of the flounder will be around deeper structure, but don’t overlook the sandy areas around most grass flats as these areas are prime ambush locations for flounder feeding on finger mullet and pinfish. The trout and redfish bite this last week was nothing but outstanding and I think we can thank Karen for that. Live shrimp, pinfish and finger mullet were the top natural baits, but artificials such as black and gold Mirror Deans and the new 3D TPE shrimp from Savage Gear and Vudu shrimp were not having any problems producing good numbers of fish. Black snapper are thick around bridges, deep docks, and rock piles. Small live shrimp, small pinfish and live pilchards are the top live baits for the snapper. The redfish are on the flats as well as in and around area passes. Most of the redfish in the pass tend to be outside the slot, but there are plenty of slot fish in the sound and bays.
On the pier the king and Spanish bite was on fire the latter part of the week, but has slowed down considerably. I would not hold too much hope for it increasing until we begin to see some southerly winds. Redfish and bluefish are schooling around the pier though and should stretch your line some. Pompano whiting and reds are being caught in the surf. Live and frozen sand fleas and shrimp are the top baits for the redfish, pompano, or whiting. The shark bit is still going strong with plenty of bull, blacktip, and spinner sharks available to test your tackle.
Hopefully the weather man has the forecast right for this week because if he is this should be a great week to head off shore. I don’t have to tell you that red snapper are everywhere right now, and that it have been a long time since we have seen that everything open to harvesting in the gulf. The grouper and amberjack bite is going strong as well; Mingos, triggers and red porgies are also available. The hottest action is on reefs and wrecks in 150 to 200 feet of water. Live hardtails, pinfish, and red porgies have been the top baits for grouper and amberjack with the triggerfish, mingos, and red porgies preferring small pieces of cut squid. When it gets like it is right now a good plan is to just target grouper and amberjacks with big baits and not worry about specifically targeting snapper, because as we all know we are going to catch them anyway. King mackerel still are available closer to shore around the Destin and Pensacola passes as well as nearshore wrecks that are holding bait. Slow trolling with live baits on flat lines just behind the boat or on planers or downriggers are deadly presentations for the kings. Deep diving plugs such as Mann’s Stretch 25’s, YoZuri deep diving 3D minnows, and X’Rap are also a great alternative. Out pass the South West Edge the wahoo have been making a good showing with the YoZuri Bonita in purple or black and orange the top two baits.
Until next week tight lines and get out there!
This Fishing Report was submitted on 10/7/2013 7:55:33 PM by Seamus and last updated on 10/8/2013 7:55:33 PM.
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