October is the month when it comes to fishing the flats in Southwest Florida. All the inshore species are here and Atlanta angler Paul Burgan scored a pair of Slams with me yesterday by landing two reds, two snook, and a couple and trout, all within two hours of each other and all on the same lure. We were using a white Zara Spook, (what else) and hiding from the wind near the mangroves just north of the power lines in Matlacha Pass.
This was a great morning but it could have been even better. In addition to the winds that kept us off a lot of my favorite flats, we had high clouds that ruined the visibility through the water. We spooked a lot of big redfish right under the bow before we ever had a chance to cast to them. The chop on the surface also made the tarpon impossible to find which ruined our chance at a true Grand Slam.
And in case there's still any confusion, a Grand Slam means catching four fish, not three. A three run homer in baseball is just that: three runs. Hit a dinger with bases loaded and what do they call it? A Grand Slam. Same rules apply to fishing. You need that tarpon to call your Slam around here a Grand one.
