It is hard to believe that we are already about to round out the month of October. Warm days along with a couple of record high temperatures meshed with sunny skies have been the norm for the past couple of weeks, contributing to the spectacular fishing anglers have been enjoying.
Water temperatures are still reading in the lower 70s, giving yet another contribution to the fishermen’s success. But that’s all about to change. The weekend is calling for the chilliest weather yet this fall, with highs only reaching into the 50s and lows dipping down into the 30s. No doubt this will have a significant impact on our fishing, but we cannot really complain as we are arriving into the month of November.
King mackerel fishing has been nothing short of fantastic this fall and anglers are talking about the large numbers of fish that haven’t been seen in local waters like this for a number of years now. As of early this week, the fish were loaded up in the 10-mile range with a few fish still being found closer to the beach. Live and dead baits slow trolled are both getting attention from the kings and a lot of the fish are hefty specimens, weighing in the mid 20s. For pier anglers, there’s still hope, with a couple of fish caught last week. But after the end of October, targeting these fish will more than likely be from boat only. Spanish mackerel are also still being caught by anglers trolling Clark Spoons, but with much fewer numbers than in recent weeks. These too will more than likely disappear in the coming days.
Pier and surf anglers fishing for bottom fish are finding plenty of Virginia mullet in the sloughs on fresh shrimp and sand fleas. While most of the fish are weighing less than 1 pound, good pan size, the larger fish should start showing about any time. Spots are being caught locally, mainly at night, but beaches to our north and south are having more luck. Red drum are also being caught from the surf and some drum have been much larger than those seen in recent years. Fish up to about 30Â pounds have been a common occurrence for those targeting them and also by-catch by those fishing live bait for king mackerel.
A quick side note on over-slot fish: Landing it and then taking it somewhere to be weighed is technically being in possession of an illegal fish, even if the intent is to release it. Even though they seem like tanks, these fish are fragile and can’t stand being kept out of the water for minutes on end. The best practice is to catch the fish and remove the hooks, if you can do so without causing damage, take a quick picture if you wish and immediately release the fish, preferably reviving it gently prior to it swimming away. Anything other than this causes undue stress on the fish, and its chances for mortality increase with every minute it’s out of the water.
