Redfish hold near structure as Gulf Coast water starts its fall cool-down

What's biting

What's next

Expect the warm-to-cool split between the southwest coast and the Big Bend to persist over the next two to three days. Cooling moves south gradually through October, so the Fort Myers reading should stay several degrees ahead of Cedar Key for most of the week. The new moon is driving a stronger tidal exchange than a typical mid-cycle tide, pulling more water through passes and backcountry creeks, which is worth planning low-light sessions around as redfish push onto cooling flats to feed.

As mullet schools continue their fall run down the coastline, a pattern Saltwater Sportsman notes extends along both the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, redfish and other inshore predators typically key in on those bait pods, and that relationship should strengthen as temperatures ease further this month. Weekend anglers should also watch for continued movement from CCA Florida on red snapper allocation, since any near-term change to federal season structure tends to shift charter effort toward inshore species in the meantime.

Context

October on Florida's Gulf Coast sits squarely in the fall transition: offshore water is still summer-warm while inshore flats and bays begin cooling first, pushing bait and predators toward structure and passes. That timing is on schedule for the calendar, not early or late. The fall mullet run that Saltwater Sportsman describes along the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico is a seasonal fixture anglers here can typically expect into November, and it tends to concentrate inshore activity even while red snapper season politics dominate headlines elsewhere in the state. Redfish activity building around structure as water eases is a normal piece of that broader fall pattern.