The front blew through, fall bite is on

The Spanish mackerel showed up in force. On the 10 Oct trip out of Tampa Bay the first bait hit the water and the rod loaded before the bail was closed, and it stayed that way: fish after fish, fast, hard, and the kind of fight that makes first-timers yell. Two of the biggest came home for the table, the rest went back to keep the party going. If you have never felt a mackerel take line, this is the month to find out. Under the surface the fall pattern is setting up. Water temperatures are sliding out of the summer range, redfish are schooling on the flats and around the oyster bars, speckled trout are back on the grass in the mornings, and the first sheepshead are showing on the pilings. Nearshore, kingfish are following the bait schools down the beaches. Now the weather. The first strong cold front of October crossed Tampa Bay this weekend with a north wind and a few showers, and that is the best news in this report. It is the switch that turns on the winter bite: cooler, cleaner water, bait pushed tight to structure, and fish that feed hard between fronts. This week's calm days after the blow are the days to be on the water. Trips run 4, 5 and 6 hours, everything included, pickups around the bay. Weekend dates for late October are going fast, and the weekdays after the front are wide open.