Everybody that would like to run offshore and catch large, extra large red snapper and release them just for the fun of it now is the time to do it. If you want to have this kind of fun come to Mexico Beach or Port St. Joe and just run off shore anywhere from 12 miles to 60 miles but just remember the National Marine Fishery Service will not let you bring any of them home. And they will put you in jail if you try to eat one while you are out there
The regular offshore fishing; amberjack, red and gag grouper, vermillion snapper, black snapper, white snapper and even sea bass are coming on strong. While you're bottom fishing there are plenty of wahoo and large kings that will keep you busy. The early fall has disappeared and unless this little cool front coming through here in the middle of October makes a big change it looks as if November will be a good fishing month offshore, or at least part of it will be anyway and maybe the whole month. I do remember some years when we had excellent fishing right on up to the middle of December.
Inshore fishing is just beginning to come on good. The flounder are still showing up good in the bay and they have not all started offshore as yet and the whiting and pompano are beginning to show and I'm not sure exactly why because the water temperature is still above 80 degrees. Maybe they are just getting hungry and all of these fine small bait that we have which are very plentiful now is causing them to come on in early. I can't tell you when but sometime in November or early December those speckled trout will be moving into the deeper water in the bay and up the ICW. We will just have to wait and see when that move starts. In the meantime, if you would like to catch a good mess of trigger fish or king mackerel or even large spanish just check out the Mexico Beach car-body reef or the ships channel.
The only information I have from the NMFS and the Southeast Saltwater Council about fishing for next year is just more bad news and it is changing so much as I am not going to even talk about it at this time.
Don’t forget to file a float plan, and let somebody know when you are going to return.