Tarpon should still be a good option during September, particularly juvenile tarpon. You’ll find juvenile tarpon from 10 to 20 pounds around docks and bridges and in creeks and canals this month. Small white flies are a good choice for tarpon that are feeding on glass minnows or at night. Adult migratory tarpon will move to inside areas, where you may find them around bridges, in passes or in deeper areas. They will rest and feed before leaving the area. Live bait, such as crabs or baitfish, or plastic baits, such as the DOA Baitbuster, will work well in these areas.
You should also find snook in the surf or around docks and bridges in the ICW, particularly close to passes. They will also start making their move inshore toward shallow flats, where you might find them staging along sandbars or on shallow flats. CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms, DOA Shrimp, live shrimp or small white flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow, should all work well.
Reds should be schooling on shallow grass flats. Be as quiet as possible. I prefer using a push pole to move my boat to avoid spooking a school of reds. Once you’ve located them, try to get in front of the school and work around its edges. Live pilchards and a variety of DOA plastic baits should work well for spin anglers. Fly anglers can also get in on the action with poppers or wide-profile baitfish fly patterns…