SoWal Fishing Paradise

October 14, 2010 by Larry Pentel

Perfect weather, crystal-clear water, great fishing and we even get to eat a few snappers. South Walton in October has got to be one of the best places on the planet !

The weekend red snapper season continues to find lots of big red critters hangin' on all the beach boats' boards.

The groupers have decided to start biting again with the slight drop in water temp and the Kings have started to gang up in close for the fall migration and some of what I have always considered to be the hottest (and most fun) rallies of the year. The past couple of afternoons it was calm and the water so clear you could see a snapper flash on the bottom in 65 feet of water when you stuck a hook in 'em !

To add even more excitement to the adventures, the sailfish showed up the past few days. I had a couple of anglers on a half day and we were running in to get a half hour of King fishing in after bottom fishing when I saw a slash on the surface. I dropped off the plane, grabbed a mackerel rod and flipped a live bait out to an immediate hook up. A very acrobatic fish that just about dumped the tld before i could get up and after him. After a 25 minute fight my happy angler got to get his picture made before we released the sail to swim off and hopefully fight another day.

They're here !

Here is the rest of the catch that we kept that morning.

The weather pattern has been such that it was calmer in the afternoon than even the morning allowing for some easy and very productive afternoon trips.

Nice when you can get a fantastic catch on a 3 hour afternoon trip !

Just to prove the day before wasn't an accident !

I have seen a couple more sails free jump the past twodays. They were too far away for us to be able to get our act together and run to 'em but I imagine we should have some more shots at 'em the next few weeks. With the bait starting to gang up inshore, the kings doing thier thing in close and snappers closed during the week I should be able to spend some time trolling live baits up in close and hopefully putting some more stick fish in the air.

Back to Monday- no red snappers- but it doesnt matter ! Happy anglers and full boards !

I had to take a day off to write a report-, change engine oil, fix tackle, etc. The weather has been so great it's hard to not keep fishing everyday 'til I drop. I know it will get rough eventually but until then get out there and enjoy some of this fall fishing. I'll be back out there again tomorrow I promise!

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Larry Pentel's picture

Captain Larry Pentel is a native of South Walton, growing up just 300 yards from the beach. Having fished the local waters for over 40 years, he is very familiar with all the different types of local fish, their habits, and most importantly - their habitats. Captain Larry is the owner of Dead Fish Charters

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