Fall is the time for changing weather here in the keys and with those weather changes the fishing styles and species we will be fishing for change as well. When the cold fronts move to the south and through our area the water temps will take a dive into the 60's and even the 50's at times. The fish will sometimes stack up in the deeper holes and moats in the backcountry and double digit days on snook and reds are possible. Also the fishing in the nearby Gulf of Mexico heats up with the arrival of schools of Spanish Mackerel and bluefish , providing anglers of all abilities with a strong fight.
This is also the time of year for some of our annual backcountry tournaments, most notably the the Redbone Celebrity Tournament Series, which is a series of three events held here in the Keys to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I recently had the opportunity to fish the Baybone Tournament held Oct.3rd,4th and 5th in Key Largo with my anglers Jim and John Dunkel of St. Petersburg, Florida. Both Jim and John were able to catch a nice bonefish with John boating a big bone of over 9lbs measuring over 31 " to the fork. The last event the 2008 Redbone tournament will be held Nov. 7th,8th and 9th the targeted species will be redfish and bonefish and there is still time to enter the tournament and fish with some great people for a great cause for info visit http://www.redbone.org/.
On Oct, 10th and 11th I fished the annual Sen. Joe Barton fishing tournament, a fun event that also benefits the C F Foundation. My anglers Brian and Joanna did quite well the first day posting a tally of 3 tarpon , 7 snook , 10 trout and all their required "fun fish" (snappers , ladyfish, jacks etc.) The second day was a little slower but we managed a nice catch of 8 snook most of our Trout and fun fish and ended up with the high point team honors for the event. A picture of Joanna with one of her snook ( below ) and a photo of the High Point Team and their "humble" guide receiving their awards (lower right )
Lots of good fall fishing left so book now,
Tightlines everyone , Capt. Paul
