Fishing this past week was like the weather; all over the place. Warm and windy one day, warm and calm the next followed by cold and windy the next couple of days. Yep, our winter weather pattern is here. Get ready for uncertainty in what to expect for weather conditions for the foreseeable future.

It was nice to be busy again this past week and was especially nice for the redfish to cooperate! Even though the wind blew during a couple of trips early in the week the reds ate with enthusiasm. Cut mullet chunks offered on grass line edges dividing the super skinny flats from slightly deeper sandy bottom regions proved to be most productive. These “highways” are often traveled by predators cruising along in search of an easy meal.

We took part in a couple of multi-boat corporate charters this week. Between hiding from the wind and running from the rain I’m surprised at our catches. Spotted seatrout (mostly schoolie fish), redfish and lots of odds and ends were caught. Of course the ever abundant catfish were particularly obnoxious this week!

I can’t wait for the off-season to finally pass by so I can get back to my regular fishing schedule. When the phone seldom rings I find excuses to park my butt at home. With the winds being uncharacteristically strong for most of October I’ve spent little time on the water. Saturday morning’s breeze had an enjoyable chill to it; a most welcome coolness that signifies the coming change of seasons.

At a time of year when I expect the water to be high and relatively clear, but I’m witnessing falling water levels and dingy water conditions nearly everywhere I’ve been. Also, it seems as if our silver mullet population has decreased in a big way. To be sure, there are plenty of big black mullet on most every flat and back-water bay, but I saw only isolated pods of fingerling or adult silver mullet at random intervals.

We only made it out a couple of times this week because I decided to wait for the winds back off a bit. I fished the central lagoon region with top-water Tony on Friday. As usual Tony tossed his Skitterwalk at schooling mullet and quickly scored a lower slot redfish.

I only made one trip to the shallow flats this week. I treated Capt. Joe to his first ever fishing excursion on the Mosquito Lagoon. Heading back to where I found tailing redfish several days before left me scratching my head in disbelief.

I got back on the water for a couple of trips this week. The full-moon influence was not kind to us. Finding fish was not especially difficult, though prompting a solid bite was.

Our Z-Man soft plastics only produced short-strikes from little trout, baby tarpon and the ever-present and obnoxious pinfish. These same critters pulling on the tails of our soft plastic offerings also nipped at our top-water plugs; both poppers and walkers. Since neither my anglers nor I wanted to wait out the fish for their typically active mid-day bite (a common occurrence on new and full moons), we made the most of the cooler mornings and called it a day.

Boat issues kept me off the water all week. If you’re not a boat owner but are considering becoming a boat owner, be aware the word boat is really an acronym. Its meaning is simple: Break Out Another Thousand (B.O.A.T.) While the past sentence may not be factual it is accurate. Yes, it’s a joke, though one based on experience!

Monday I was joined by Tom, a regular client/friend who often takes advantage of my “scouting trip charters.” If you are a local angler who can go fishing on MY schedule you might want to sign up. The discounted fee is attractive and the particulars are posted at the bottom of the home page on my website.

It’s good to be back on the platform! The knee injury is well behind me and looking forward to the cooler weather that’s in our near future!

After being snubbed by the trout in one of my favorite spots then being continuously flipped-off (yep, they were tailing) by a finicky school of black drum Matt made contact with this 40 inch redfish.

Bill caught a bunch of redfish this morning on the Mosquito Lagoon and finished up with an average-sized trout.