by Captain Mike Merritt
At the time of writing this months report we have had some really good Redfish action! Not only are we catching good numbers of fish each day, but we have been catching plenty of large fish. My biggest this week was a 36” fish caught by Mike Akin of Miami. The best bite has occurred on the 2nd part of the incoming tide. That can change, but Redfish like the incoming tide. I have been using live bait for the best action lately and Pilchards or Finger Mullet are both plentiful right now. October is known as Red October for a reason. It has been the absolute best month to catch good numbers of these fish. Since we have been seeing an increase in numbers since August I for one am looking forward to a great month! With a 2 fish boat limit the take rate of these fish by recreational anglers surely must be at an all time low. If the big fish are allowed to spawn then the Redfish population should continue to explode. Days of catching 50-100 Reds a day used to be common this time of year. Maybe we will see this again? All I can say is I am hopeful.

With all the water flow changes and changes in the ecosystem that we have seen, I for one am not sure what the results will be. Those that argue for water to be sent south and those that argue for better water quality don’t always see things the same. One thing is for sure the health of this fishery depends on some close monitoring which I do not see happening. When was the last time any long time fishing guide was called and asked his or her opinion on these very important issues? I am passionate about our Everglades, but I am worried about its future.When the system dies, the fish will too. I hope to see some restoration work happen here in the barrier islands but so far none has even been discussed. We need oysters and grasses to have a healthy system. And as you all know we don’t have either like we used to.
So, with the concern over the habitat, I am able to report the fishing being good at this time! Snook fishing has been somewhat disappointing. We are normally catching lots of large Snook in September but this year the Snook has been slower than normal. Not sure of this reason, but maybe these fish are still offshore. October and November should bring some post spawn fish in here feeding so we will see what happens. Hopefully they had a good spawn as the data shows that during above average rainy seasons we have a good Snook spawn. This is backed up by data showing the catch rate increasing in the years following. John Kalafarski showed me this data years ago and it is always encouraging to see.
Tarpon are back and we are seeing them in all sizes but especially the smaller ones. The rivers and back waters have lots of juvenile fish. As long as the water is moving these fish can be seen rolling. They seem to be pretty hungry and cooperative and have been providing some great fun! The local boys that fish from the docks are having a blast with these fish. Bait, lures, jigs, bucktails all seem to be working on these young fish. I have had numerous clients in the last 2 months manage to get their Slam with Snook, Reds, Trout and Tarpon. They are all feeding as they do every fall.
Even the Seatrout are cooperating. The ones we have been catching are a good average size with plenty of 18” and 19” fish mixed in. Again, if our grasses were here we would have even more of these. I never used to get very many fingerling Trout in my castnet, but I am noticing more of these up by the edge of the beaches where the finger mullet are. I am not sure if this is a result of less Turtle Grass for them to hide in but it might be the case. They are more prone to be attacked by predator fish in these areas. But, as I said we will see how all these changes add up in the years to come.
I wish you all much success on the water and hope we all can do our part to make it happen! Good luck fishing!
Capt. Mike Merritt
Guide | (561) 252-4324 | SnookFishing1@juno.com
