I decided to change it up a bit and take a much needed break from the Bull Reds. October marks the beginning of some of the best Sheepshead fishing you can ask for in our area. They aren't the bigger ones we see February through April but the numbers are always really good. Initially, we started looking for them in the Inlet however, we quickly learned that the Blenny's are so thick out there that you can't effectively target the Sheepshead. Once things cool off a bit more, they will start clearing out of the inlet. They're always around but the Blenny By-catch becomes less of a problem. In the mean time though, the Sheepshead are being caught further west. The usual haunts(Blount Island docks, Little Jetty's Park, river markers, docks, etc...) are holding plenty of fish, you just have to deal with the hordes short fish in the process. Good news though, no Blenny's to deal with. Today, we caught over 40 Sheepshead. In less than an hour. Only 14 were keepers but still a good session for September.
We've also been catching Sea Trout around Blount Island. Lots of good sized Yellow Mouth are around. They seem to be concentrated between 10-15 feet of water. The ones I'm seeing are on rocky bottom with a decent drop off. Same deal with the Speckled Sea Trout. We lost a lot of good fish on a trip last week. The Specks were averaging 17-18 inches with some much bigger ones that got the better of us.
The big Virginia Croakers are starting to Show up between the Buckman and Trout River. We're already getting a few here and there at Dames Point but they're mostly on the smaller side. In another 2 weeks or so we should start seeing them in big numbers. Hate them or not, bailing 2-3 pound Croakers over the Gunnel, one after the other is a good time. Solid eating too.
The Bull Reds are still running strong. We aren't catching them in large numbers with the big moon, rainy river water and crazy currents... It's been tougher than I'm used to for this time of year, that's for sure. Cut bait has been next to useless the entire spawn. Normally, cut Lady Fish does incredibly well for us but right now, Blue Crab is the only thing producing the Big Reds. Live Mullet and Croakers aren't getting the job done either. If you skimp out on bait variety for the Full Of Bull, it better not be the Blue Crab.
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Danny Pardue