Mansfield Report: October 2025

Greetings from Port Mansfield! Overall, I’d say it’s been a fun summer but fishing during the latter weeks of the season can be challenging as we have not quite entered the transition into fall. Having said that, though, late September and early October is when we begin to experience a welcomed uptick in fishing. I sometimes think of it as being almost able to “smell” a cooler weather pattern developing.

Recapping summer, we had very successful mornings but as the days wore on and water temperatures rose into the low 90s, most fish trickled off the flats that I love to walk around on to find comfort in deeper water. Anglers that were drifting in 3-5 feet of water were easily taking limits on slot trout and even redfish on occasion. It is hard to wade for those fish in those depths but certainly doable if that is what you wanted to do. Wading deep can be fun, but rest assured most will have to service their fishing reels following a chest-deep wade. No matter how careful you might be with keeping your reel free from saltwater, the chances are high it is going to see a few dunkings.  

Fall fishing is setting up nicely, now that we are beginning to see a slight decrease in daily temperatures. Schools of redfish have begun forming and showing up often in the vicinity of East Cut while smaller groups have been cruising shallow, back-bay shorelines. Walking along a shoreline and targeting these smaller groups is generally a lot easier than running your boat and possibly stumbling into a big school. The only caveat is if you happen to be wading along a flat and walk into a school of three hundred redfish…well, that can certainly be fun if you can stay with them. Running a boat around a school can cause them to break up and it can be difficult to circle back and set up the exact wade, although it can be done.

Snook hookups have been on the rise, along with my ratio of landings to hookups. Generally speaking we land about 30% of hookups but I think we are closer to 40-50% this season, which is great. No giants as of this writing but I am optimistic that we will get a shot at a 30-plus linesider real soon. So far only one snook has come on plastics (Wigalo) and the rest have come on Mansfield Knockers. As I have mentioned before, snook fishing can be boring sometimes and truth be told it can evaluate your patience, but the reward can exceed your expectations. It is all up to the anglers to decipher what they desire.

No question the bay is coming alive, mullet are schooling up and gamefish are following and in a lot of cases big trout are actually under the schools of baitfish. It’s amazing to me how the mullet are not more nervous, or they may very well be because at any given moment any one of them could be devoured. That said, when approaching a school of mullet, I first work my topwater along the outskirts of them. I will not make just one cast, but I will work all outer angles of the school. Usually, you can draw out one of the trout or redfish from under the mullet. Always work from the outside in. This technique keeps the school of bait together longer and you may very well be able to accomplish good fishing longer.

I say it every year about this time, NOW is the time to check your Simms waders for leaks, not November or December. Best way to check them is to put them on and hop in a pool and give it 15-20 minutes. If you have a leak Simms can get them repaired before you need them. If not, you will have an expensive choice to make; that is buying another pair and sending in your leaky pair. The choice is yours. That said, Fishing Tackle Unlimited has a huge assortment of Simms gear for this upcoming season, so if you are in the market swing by FTU.

From now on into winter, fish will start to put on weight and it will be noticeable. You will not get your heaviest fish right now but you will start to see what the future holds. From now on things will get good, especially as the water cools and topwater’s become the lure of the day.