I’ve always really liked fishing in October. You get to experience the beginning of the Fall inshore bite and the warm water species are still around. This makes for a variety of options ranging from Bull Redfish, Trout, and smaller Redfish to Sharks, Tripletail, and the occasional Tarpon.
Last month started with a bang but went on to drop some really nasty weather on us towards the end. Usually late September provides some stellar inshore fishing but we were just lucky to get out for a trip here and there.
This month you can expect our focus to be on big spawning Redfish also known as “Bull Reds” as well as some light tackle fishing for Trout, Redfish, and Flounder.
The bull Redfish season has been awesome so far as you can see in these pictures.
This was this young lady’s biggest fish ever! I love it when we set personal records!
We’ve all heard the myths about bananas being bad luck on a boat, but as you can see, they had no effect for this angler! He said that on this trip he caught more fish than the rest of his life combined!
Another young lady that got into some Bull Redfish action while fishing with Capt. Tim (AKA: Dad)
As far as the smaller Redfish go, we had a successful spawn this past season so a lot of smaller Redfish are growing into “fun size” fish now. These are still catch and release fish but they are a lot of fun to catch and when you find them you usually find a lot of them.
Here is my oldest son Jackson with his first Redfish caught just a couple of weeks ago.
I also took a week off to fish a qualifier tournament for the Elite Series Redfish Tour. This tournament was held in St. Augustine and in order for me to qualify for the classic that is coming up in March I would have to win. Second place would have been no help for me as I missed all of the regular season events.
I had a decent 3 days of fishing during the official practice period but I was plagued with trolling motor issues. Charlie with Trolling Motor Service in Orange Park was able to help me out on short notice and I was able to get a full day of practice in on the day before the tournament.
When it all came down to it, everything worked according to plan. I got two fish in the livewell in my first spot and then moved on to my home run hole. I was able to upgrade the smaller of my two fish and I headed in for weigh in. Luckily I had enough weight to take home a win and now I will be heading to Chalmette Louisiana for the classic where I will be competing with 39 other anglers for $100,000!
Here is some video from the tournament
Elite Series Pro, TJ Cheek from HT Series on Vimeo.
With the new skiff I was able to get to fish that were in only 4 or 5 inches of water. If you want to experience a fishing trip like this just give me a call. Winter sight fishing for Redfish in Georgia can be incredible!
The best inshore fishing of the year is starting now so make sure to book early and get the best tides.
I’m considering doing some destination trips to Louisiana next year to sight fish for huge Redfish with fly and spin tackle. If you are interested in doing a 3 to 7 day trip to the marshes of Louisiana just let me know and I’ll add your name to the list and contact you when I have details together.
Tight lines!
Capt. TJ Cheek
Fishing guide serving St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island Georgia