Capt. George Tunison

After an unseasonably warm week, a cool down is expected for the weekend with predicted temps in the comfortable low 80s accompanied by light winds which makes offshore runs to nearby reefs and far out GPS numbers likely for our local blue water anglers.

Time will tell if the latest tropical depression to the south of us will become Hurricane Sara and if already battered and stressed Southwest Florida will be in its path. In the future I’ll probably be keeping my hurricane shutters up from August till Christmas.

Inshore boaters be-ware as both Saturday and Sunday mornings we will experience 0.6-foot negative tides along with slow moving water in the afternoon. Fast moving expensive props that have cleared bottom obstacles this past week may find trouble. Slow down and don’t stray out of the marked channels or face expensive repairs or possible harm to you and your crew if running aground at speed.

Considering the lack of water, you will have to rethink your under-the-bushes redfish plan when fishing mornings this weekend. Instead, get up on that poling platform and pole looking for tailing reds on the flats and potholes rather than using it as a tackle station and lunch counter.

First thing new Florida anglers with a bad case of new flats boat fever require on their purchase is a poling platform and trolling motor. From what I’ve seen over the years, I’d say that 75% of these “must have” poling platforms actually see little use after the fever subsides. These anglers are missing out on some fine fishing as the height of the platform and the stealthy quiet provided by an experienced hand on the pole allows you to see and present baits to wary trophies that can hear and feel your Minn Kota or Motor Guide a long way off alerting them to danger. With winter’s clear, shallow water ahead, learning to quietly pole will give you a serious advantage over the all-electric angler.

Weather permitting, fall brings fine fishing to Southwest Florida and adds several species to the list of available fish. Inshore-visiting, hard-fighting, high-jumping bluefish terrorize anything swimming. Head offshore and check out floating debris and crab floats for hard-fighting tripletail. These guys love live shrimp, plastic shrimp and shrimp fly imitations. If you spot a keeper or trophy trip and it spooks, it’s likely it will just sink down in the water column along the trap rope, but not leave the area. Give it a rest and return later for a more quiet presentation. These delicious, prehistoric looking fish fight hard, jump and will do their best to wrap you around the rope to escape your dinner plate.

Fall Spanish macs and bonito are built for lite tackle fun and surprise cobias often appear but the real star of the fall show is migrating kingfish. Newbies are amazed to see a 4 to 5-foot-long streamlined rocket shoot straight up out of the sea higher than their boats tee-top while still chewing on their bait. Kingfish draw anglers all along the Gulf and Atlantic coast and most SKA tournaments always draw hundreds of anglers.

Anchored chumming and trolling spoons work, but slow trolling a spread of live baits is hard to beat. Blue runners, ribbonfish, pogies, mullet all produce. A 7-foot rod and reel loaded with 250-300 yards of 25-pound test and a medium drag setting is preferred. First double the end of your main line with a Bimini Twist or Spider Hitch then add a quality swivel. Haywire Twist on a 2 to 3-foot section of thin wire, then add a 5/0-6/0 live bait hook to it for the bait’s mouth. Now add a short length of wire to the first hooks eye then another stinger hook to that to put behind the bait’s dorsal fin completes your basic double hook, live bait trolling rig.

Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at 239-282-9434 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.