Fishing the Everglades

September In The Ten Thousand Islands 

 September has always been a great month here in the Islands! From catching Snook and Tarpon, to Reds and Trout, they should all be cooperating this month. In past years the large schools of Redfish would show up at the beginning of September. It was common to see schools of Reds in the hundreds. We have not seen this in quite a few years and it is definitely not a common sight anymore. Why? We must ask ourselves what has changed to prevent this? Water quality? Bait? Grasses? Too much tannin? Hopefully we see this again in my lifetime. I tell the younger guides about itand they all say how they wished they could have seen it. It is a good month to catch them and you can still have a decent day with 10-15 Reds, but days of catching 100 Reds here seems to be over. And it isn't because we harvested them, because plenty of days we would not keep any. We thought it would never end, but it has. But we still get excited to catch them even if it is fewer fish. 

Snook season is still closed this month, but this is the month they quit spawning and actually start feeding aggressively again! The biggest Snook I have ever caught have been caught in September. I used to tell my clients, if you want a 40" fish, come in September. It is a great month for big fish.  Again, I tend to think about how it used to be and how many more fish we had inshore. It seems like the offshore Snook fishing has gotten better and they don't move inshore as much. This makes me believe there is something not quite right inshore. We still catch good fish and some days you might catch 30 or more, but the days of catching 100 snook which used to be common are over. I do hope this changes and the next generation gets to experience this. I know there are exceptions to this every once in a while but it used to be common. This all being said, make sure you get in some days this month and catch your biggest Snook ever! 

Of course Tarpon are still around and their numbers should increase again this month. The Mullet run should start up this month and the big Tarpon will be feasting on them as they come inshore. Let's all hope for a good Mullet run this year! I am already seeing a lot more finger Mullet on the beaches, and this makes for some exciting action. This time of year it is best to catch the incoming tide. We will get an inflow of saltier water and cooler water with the tide. This will help fire up the bite in the Islands. Whatever you decide to do this month it is one of my all time favorites for lots of action and big fish! So have fun this month and enjoy the action! Good luck fishing! 

Captain Mike Merritt was born in Coral Gables, Floriday, lived in Australia as a child, and then moved back to Everglades City, Florida where he graduated from Everglades City High School. He caught his first snook at the age of eight and has been catching them ever since.  

He is a third-generation fisherman and has been guiding in the Everglades National Park for over 30 years. While the glades are his primary fishing grounds, he also owns The Amazon Prime Ecolodgeand has been fishing in Brazil’s Amazon for the last 12 years.