Late October Charlotte Harbor Fishing Report: Redfish Bite Is Back On

A 30-inch redfish from a recent trip — the size class that's been showing up this week.

Well, that was a rough couple of weeks, and I don't mind saying so. The cold front, the king tides, and the wind back around October 16-19 turned the water the color of bad coffee and knocked the bite sideways. Some days you had to work for every fish, and a few days nobody wanted to talk about it afterward.

That's over now. The water's cleaning up, the fall pattern is in full swing, and this week the fish have been hungry.

Redfish - top of the ticket

Good-size reds are showing up consistently, on live bait and on artificials both. The west side of Pine Island has been fishing well most days, with the wind blowing out of the east and northeast. If you like working a flat for reds on a falling tide, this is your window.

Snook - fattening up

Snook are plentiful right now and doing what they do every fall: starting their usual move up the rivers and creek systems, feeding hard before the first real cold front arrives. Out nearshore on the big baits - pinfish, pilchards, threadfins - there are upper-slot and bigger fish to be found. A reminder: snook harvest season runs October 1 through November 30, one fish per person per day, 28 to 33 inches. Measure twice, keep once.

Sea trout - back on the productive list

Trout are biting again, mostly on the open flats. The trick is finding cleaner water - a foot or two of visibility - where the bite turns on. Early is best, on grass in two to four feet. Keepers in the mix.

Sheepshead — starting to bite  

The sheepshead are starting to turn on — always a good sign as the water cools. If you like a hard-fighting fish that eats well, this is the time to get after them.

  Also in the mix

Pompano have shown back up in the action. On the nearshore side, on the days the wind lets you get out, gag grouper, snook, and snapper are cooperating. And with the water continuing to cool, keep an eye out for the Spanish mackerel moving south. They're not here in force yet, but they're coming.

Water conditions

The big story this week is that the water cleaned up. What wrecked it - the cold front, the wind, and the minus-a-foot king tides - is behind us, and the back bays have been fishing well wherever the wind's been blocked. It's still dirty on some of the open flats, so hunt the cleaner pockets. Red tide is not a local problem right now: the October 23 state update had southwest Florida at background concentrations only, offshore of Lee County, and the beaches here have had their red-tide alerts lifted. The one bloom the state has found this season is all the way up in the Panhandle - a long way from our water.

If the forecast holds and the first real cold front stays away, this pattern should keep rolling. Once that front hits, the script flips toward trout and sheepshead - and that's a fine script too.

Want to be out there while it's hot? Book a trip at all4chuckfishingcharters.com or call 239-940-4901. Half Day (4 hours) $600, 3/4 Day (6 hours) $800, Full Day (8 hours) $1,000 - add $100 for the 5th and 6th guest. All trips leave at 8:00 AM.