By MEL BERMAN

It might be November, but summer really just ended in our area early this week. With the recent cold front, we are into a more normal weather pattern, with mornings in the 60s and water temperatures eventually dropping into the low 70s.
Now, don’t expect that brisk fall bite to happen right away. There’s usually a period after the front settles when most species must acclimate to the cooler conditions. However, you can go exploring this weekend to determine which species has started eating.

There are early signs that a few larger trout have been arriving in local waters. Captain Jim Huddleston has been catching the occasional trout in the 26-inch range working the flats off the St. Joseph Sound spoil islands.

Fishing earlier this week with my friend “Fireman” John Litz, we needed a warm jacket and a bit of patience, but we did hook some nice fish. The catch included a nice red caught along the Courtney Campbell Causeway and some keeper-sized catch-and-release trout in the deep grass flats along the Intracoastal Waterway off Dunedin.

Captain C.A. Richardson reports that his best redfish bite has been in Tampa Bay using what he calls his “default redfish bait” — a 3/16-ounce jig head and a 4-inch glass minnow body. Richardson also said catch-and-release trout in the 20-inch-plus class can be expected almost every trip as the cooler water temperatures improves the bite.

Richardson suggests that dock light fishing is still productive, “in fact it’s been very common on most charters to score a variety of species on jigs before the sun comes up, including trout, snook, mangrove snapper, gag grouper and jacks.”

Hear “The Captain Mel Show” Saturdays from 6-9 a.m. on 970 AM. Also, visit “Fishing Florida OnLine Magazine” at capmel.com.