Many St. Pete locals and visitors alike look forward to Fall fishing in the area. Between comfortable temps, fewer crowds, and great seasonal fishing opportunities – let’s take a look at what Fall fishing in St. Pete looks like in 2021.
Fall Species To Look Out For In St. Pete
Whether inshore or nearshore there are some great fishing opportunities to look forward to this Fall.
Late season migratory tarpon will still be present early on in the Fall season. Fall is literally days away but we are steadily catching tarpon on our charters here in mid-September.
Your inshore slam species, redfish, seatrout, and snook, will continue making regular appearances as we head into Fall. Once the weather starts to dip in later months, snook may slow down a bit but the others will still be around and making their presence known.
Fall is also a great time to start seeing more Spanish and king mackerel in St. Pete’s nearshore fishery.
Some other species to look out for include cobia, permit, grouper, snapper, black drum, and flounder.
Fishing The Different Phases Of Fall
Fall is a transitional season and water temps will play the biggest role. As these temps cool, different gamefish species will begin to migrate in and out of the area. Alongside, the types of prey they will be chasing will begin to change up.
Since this is Florida and Fall isn’t quite “cold” when compared to other areas, the start of Fall is still pretty warm. Late Fall begins to see the lower water temps. In this, there are different methods for each phase of Fall fishing.
Ealy Fall
Early Fall will still be looking a lot like summer. Plenty of activity and baitfish are still in the area. This means that species like tarpon will still be targeted, snook will be smashing baits, and catching an inshore slam will still be a daily possibility. If there were a cold snap during this early part, it will have little effect on fishing as the water temps will still maintain themselves for a bit.
Late Season Tarpon In Early Fall
Mid Fall
You will say goodbye to tarpon, but exchange that with better shots at species like flounder, sheepshead, and black drum. Bait choice will become a mixed bag of baitfish species and crustaceans (shrimp/crab). Monitoring temps and what the fish are doing is going to be key here.
We will also see the entry of a few more interesting species, like permit, mackerel, grouper, and snapper.
Late Fall
This is where we expect to see the onset of winter-like weather. This will mean slowing things down a bit to match what these different gamefish species are biting. Very cold days can lead to a near non-existent snook bite, but on days where the temps warm back up in the mid-day – this warm-weather species will make their appearances again.
Most of the other species mentioned will still be around, but the key will be to bring an assortment of offerings to entice the bite. This is the time of year where each day can be a little different from the last and the next. Anglers should be prepared for anything.
Book A St. Pete Fall Fishing Charter
Captain Kevin here at Non-Stop Fishing Charters has been serving the St. Pete area for 20 years as a professional local guide. Literally celebrating the anniversary of 20 years since his very first charter in the area- today. If you want to see all the possibilities that the Fall season brings to the St. Pete fishery while enjoying great weather, and fewer crowds – this is the place to get that setup.
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