Complements of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka Florida

Let the Feeding Frenzy Commence

Yesterday as the sun settled in the west, I found myself at the ocean's edge.  My quest was not to catch fish for I carried no tackle, but to simply observe conditions in anticipation of the arrival of the mullet. With a low-pressure system building in the Atlantic northeast of Florida and the northeasterly breezes and seas building, conditions are right for the commencement of the mullet run.

As I sat there scanning the water with my toes burred in the sand, I caught a glimpse of a large splash out of the corner of my eye.  Was it a large tarpon or maybe a spinner shark? My anticipation grew.  Soon I spotted what I was hoping to see as another large tarpon exploded on a school of silver mullet pushing south about 100 yards offshore.  As the darkness grew more and more bait pods pushed to the surface hounded by hungry tarpon and spinner sharks.  Further out I watch as terns feverishly worked schools of
glass minnows pushed to the surface by Spanish mackerel.  Clearly the bait run has started, and soon the beach and inlets will be teaming with bait and hungry fish. Currently, heavy ocean conditions will make fishing from a boat challenging, but once the seas begin to settle the bite should be on fire.
On the inside today I spent the better part of the afternoon poling my Old Town canoe along the western shoreline of the Banana River No-Motor Zone looking for signs of the fall bait run.  Gusty winds and recent rainfall have muddied the water making sight fishing difficult.

As I poled along the flat I would run over the fish before I?d see them, so I adjusted my strategy with a decision to try a new soft plastic bait.  In the distance I could see redfish pushing and moving about, so I decided to try retrieving the new Exude 2  inch Fan Tailed Shrimp in the Golden Bream color across the surface of the water.  I would make a long cast well past my target, and with my rod tip raised high, I would reel the bait at a
steady speed just fast enough to keep it fluttering on top.  The fan Tail Shrimp comes with a glass rattle, which inserts into a pocket in the tail of the bait, but the rattle was gone after the first fish.  I have done well using this tactic before, and once again it rewarded me with 8 redfish and about a dozen missed fish.  After my pack of Exudes were gone, I switched to my trusted RipTide frog, and again received explosive results from I believe to be snook at the very edge of the matted widgeon grass.  If you try this
tactic, keep your rod tip high, and at the moment of the strike, through your rod tip forward giving the fish some slack and a chance to take the bait.  The hook I was using was a #3 Daiichi Copper Head with the barb smashed.