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Fishing Reports

Cocoa Beach and Orlando area fishing 4-cast for October 2016

By September 13, 2016No Comments

PORT CANAVERAL-

It will be another great month for anglers fishing in and around the Port

Canaveral area this October.  The mullet run will still be going on but it’s
usually a little more sporadic than it was last month.  Look for the best action
to occur around any tropical weather or cold front systems that pass by our
area.  It one of these coincides around the new and full moon phases when tidal
flow increases, it can creates some great feeding activity. Anglers can catch a
myriad of fish species including snook, jack, tarpon, shark, ladyfish, flounder,
mangrove snapper, bluefish, tripletail, king mackerel, cobia, and redfish during
the mullet migration in October.

To get started just net some fingerling mullet
and put them on a 1/2 ounce jig head.  I prefer either the HookUp or Assassin
versions that come with a 4/0 sized hook.  These are sturdy enough to hook and
hold large redfish, snook, and cobia if one decides to bite. I use 40 to
50-pound test Sufix fluorocarbon for leader material on this type of rig. Fish
the live fingerlings below the rest of the mullet that you see running the jetty
edges or surf line and they will not last long before something crushes them.
The two rods that I like to use for this type of presentation are the Memory
Stix model 793 (7’9″ 3 power) for open surf areas, and the Memory Stix 775 (7’7″
5 power) near jetties or other structures. For targeting the larger tarpon and
king mackerel, I usually switch to a 7/0 VMC 7385 circle hook.  I run 60 to
80-pound test Fluorocarbon leader for the tarpon, and a piece of 40 to 60-pound
wire leader if kingfish or shark are the main targeted species that day. When
fishing artificial lures the Rapala X-Rap and X-Rap Long Cast are hard to beat.
These lipped diving plugs have just the right shape and action to mimic the
mullet and draw strikes form the predators.  The size 10, 12 and 14 are all
utilized in my arsenal depending on the size of the mullet that I am fishing
around.  A large landing net is a plus when fishing along the beaches and
jetties because it allows me to net the fish quickly and get back into the
action even quicker.  One last thing-make sure you have a fish measuring tape
sticker on your boat so you can know if the fish you just caught was legal to
keep or not.  Now is the time to get out there and experience some of the best
fishing action of the year.

Until next time…Catch a memory!

Captain Jim Ross

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