Alternatives: Big snook are feeding voraciously in and around Sebastian Inlet this month. Some anglers swear by night-fishing along the break walls, but plenty of snook are taken from the inlet during the daylight hours.

Look for big king mackerel to begin moving onto Seahorse Reef off of Cedar Key. Top spots are anywhere Spanish mackerel are also present.

OCTOBER
Redfish:
Pensacola Pass
Don't plan on redfish for dinner if you're heading to Pensacola Pass this month. Catching one under 27 inches long is not always easy. However, catching one in the 25- to 40-pound range is!

Live bait is the most effective choice for these bull reds. Savvy anglers cast-net a livewell full of menhaden on their way out. Key areas of the pass are along the east side. Local experts position their baits on or near the bar making the last break out to the main channel's deeper waters

Although the big reds eat anytime, many anglers who specialize in them say they bite best at night.

Alternatives: Look for schools of big redfish to be prowling the shallow flats inside the Cedar Key area. A rising tide moves them into three to four feet of water.

Sailfish are now working their way into the 80- to 120-foot depths off the Port Everglades Inlet at Fort Lauderdale.

NOVEMBER
Snook:
Everglades City
Cooling weather, a lot fewer bugs, and plenty of hungry snook make this a prime month to prowl the backcountry waters of the Everglades National Park.

Look for top snook habitat in the Broad and Lostman river systems. For those venturing in on their own, a quality map, radio, GPS, and a compass are highly recommended, although numerous guide services are available from Everglades City.

Come prepared with stout casting gear, 20-pound line, and a good selection of topwater plugs, jerkbaits, sinking plugs and jigs. Snook over 20 pounds are taken in the backcountry every fall.

Alternatives: Cooling waters will shake Rodman Reservoir's bass from their summer doldrums, and put them on the first edge along the channel and in the Barge Canal.

Blackfin tuna appear on the menu for anglers in the Florida Keys, and you don't have far to travel offshore to get in on the action.

DECEMBER
Seatrout:
Suwannee River
All it takes is one sharp cold front to move trout into the Suwannee River, and you can expect one this month.

Once trout are in the river, look for them in the deeper holes with a hardpan bottom, especially if rock ledges are present. Tide stages aren't overly important, as long as the water is moving. But your lure presentation is -- jigs or sinking plugs often need to be right on the bottom and moving gently with the current in order to entice the larger trout.

Alternatives: Bass begin leaving their open-water haunts on Lake Istokpoga as they migrate to the shallows to spawn. Anglers working the outer weedline edges should find them, particularly on warm afternoons.

Thanks to a major stocking program by the state, Lochloosa Lake has quietly become one of the hottest crappie fisheries in Florida. Anglers drifting open lake waters in 7 to 8 feet should catch plenty of those specks this month.