Trick or treat? Not yet. But this longtime Port O’Connor angler fooled this solid trout while fishing grass and sand with soft plastics in 2 feet of water. Capt. Robert Sloan photo

What do you get with the first cool fronts of September and October? How about this – bull reds, slot reds, big trout, limits of trout, tarpon, ling, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and red snapper – It’s all right here, right now as tides begin to cool.

With cooling water temperatures fishing gets a jump start as summer heat gives way to fall.

Here are some big time fishing options at Port O’Connor right now:

Bull reds will be schooled up in the surf, at the jetties and in the bays. You can also find big schools of reds roaming along island shorelines. The other day I was wade fishing along Matagorda Island with three clients and one of them started yelling something about redfish everywhere. He had waded into a huge school of reds that were mostly slots in the 22 to 26 inch class. They smacked anything from jigs to topwaters.

Trout will be on a big-time feed on the flats. Wading is a great way to find ‘em, shallow with topwater plugs early. As the sun heats things up switch to soft plastics like a 5-inch Yum Money Minnow in white/chartreuse on a 1/8 ounce chartreuse jig head. Cast the jigs out and reel ‘em in like a spinnerbait. It’s that simple.

Solid trout can also be found in the surf just after a cool front lays the waves down and runs green currents up to the beach. This is also when you can sight cast to big reds feeding in the first gut. They will nail copper/penny colored jigs and gold spoons all day long.

Schools of tarpon, king mackerel and Spanish mackerel will be feeding at the mouth of the jetties and 3 to 5 miles offshore.

The bottom line is this – it’s time to catch fish and lots of them!

Give me, Capt. Robert Sloan, a call to book a trip at 409 782 6796 or email – sloan288@aol.com. Check out our photos, trip info and more at www.luckystrikeguide.com.