OCTOBER
Largemouth Bass: Lake Istokpoga
Cooling temperatures shake the bass out of their summer doldrums and get them feeding on Istokpoga this month. Look for largemouths to be located on offshore vegetation and watch for surface-schooling activity in the morning and evening. This can be a great time for topwater plugs and lipless crankbaits. But if the bass spurn those offerings, downsize to a 3- or 4-inch hard-plastic jerkbait in firetiger or chrome. That offering can often trigger strikes.

If the weather has been cool, check vegetation points extending out from the shoreline flats.

Alternatives: Bass are surface schooling over mid-river bars in the St. Johns River between Lake George and the Buffalo Bluff railroad bridge. Peak activity normally occurs on the last portion of the ebb tide, early and late in the day.

Redfish are gathered in big schools on the Mosquito Lagoon flats. The best time to find them is early in the day, but if boat traffic is light they can stay up all day.

NOVEMBER
Redfish: St. Augustine
Bull redfish weighing up to 50 pounds are available in the St. Augustine Inlet basin this month, not more than a half-mile from the Vilano boat ramp.

Locate drops in the 15- to 20-foot rang; toss out a live mullet, cut mullet, or half a blue crab; and be sure to use stout gear. Local guides consider 20-pound tackle to be the minimum. Virtually all reds are over the maximum slot-limit size and must be released. Using tackle that's too light only results in mortality for some.

Reds may hit anytime of the day, but the upper and lower ends of the tide are often best.

Alternatives: Bonefish are moving in Biscayne Bay, and clearer-water conditions on a rising tide allow effective sight-fishing.

Grouper are roaming the Intra-coastal Waterway in Pinellas County. Look for them on hard-bottom drops in 10 to 20 feet of water.

DECEMBER
Seatrout: Aucilla River
Any sharp drop in temperature can load the Aucilla River up with trout during the winter, and the area can expect one or more cold fronts this month. Look for cold-weather trout to be in the deeper holes on the lower section of the river.

Soft-plastic baits on jigs or sinking plugs drifted across the bottom fool these fish when you find them.

As the weather warms after the front, savvy anglers follow the trout out of the river to the deeper depressions on the flats near the river mouth.

Alternatives: Big speckled perch are biting in 15 to 20 feet of water at Santa Fe Lake. Minnow-tipped jigs are the key to catching them.

Bass have started spawning in the clear spring waters of Salt Run on the west coast of Lake George. Morning and evening are the best times to find a monster on the bed.