October is an incredibly fun time of year because it seems as if everyone is firing on all cylinders. The amount of bait off the beaches, on the flats, and around the bridges is prolific and everything is getting in on the action before the cold fronts force it into deeper water or south. As our days get shorter and we get closer to changing our time clocks, the fish will be in full feed mode until mother nature decides to shut it down.
Snook are scattered throughout the intracoastal waterways, flats, and there are some fish still in the passes this month. It’s not uncommon to see them blitzing on hoards of bait along the shorelines inside the passes. The most consistent action has been first thing in the morning with any kind of tidal movement. The larger concentrations of fish will have begun their trek back to their stagnant winter haunts where they will be able to use the deeper water to acclimate to the changing environment. Enrico Puglisi style flies are my go-to because they can be placed relatively close to the fish without spooking him and have a slower sink rate which allows the fly to swim above the bottom/grass (preventing it from disappearing). Dock light fishing has been productive around the new moon phase when the wind has kept us from sticking to our original plan. The canal systems that have dead ends will be receiving a lot of attention from Mr. snook the next couple months as they do a better job of retaining water temperature.
