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| December |
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| Bring
on the cold!!! |
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Hurricane
season is finally over, so we can breathe a sigh of relief until
next year. Luckily, this hurricane season has spared our battered
state. Ole’ mother Winter is knockin’ at the door.
I know that it’s no Alaskan winter, but for the fish of
Florida Bay, it’s time to find warmer waters. As the cold
fronts approach more frequently so does the periods of windy
weather. But, look at it as opportunities instead of a pain
in the you-know-what. Use those windy days to go out and find
new honey-holes and do some exploring. The days between fronts
will provide us with some of the best fishing days of the year.
Despite the
recent cold and windy conditions, fishing has remained very
good in the backcountry. Snook fishing should remain good throughout
the bay until water temperatures begin to dip below 70 degrees.
At this point many of the snook will make their annual journey
into the backcountry (Whitewater Bay) where the water temperatures
remain more consistent throughout the winter. Pilchards or live
shrimp on a Hank Brown HookUp Lure have produced the best results
for snook.
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The
windy conditions make it difficult to pole the flats for snook
this time of year so make an adjustment to your technique
to find these linesiders. On those windy days, drop the anchor
in a creek or channel where the mullet are moving through
and it’s almost a guarantee that the snook won’t
be far away. If you are using live bait, throw out a few freebies
every now and then to keep the fish biting. It helps to stun
the freebies by squeezing them to keep the bait in the general
area of where you are fishing.
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The trout bite
in the bays around Flamingo will continue to improve as
the water temps drop. Find the grass beds and you will find
the schools of trout ranging from 12” to over 25”.
Shutdown the boat on the upwind side of the flat and drift
across while casting Cajun Thunder popping corks with a
HookUp Lure and Berkley Gulp shrimp. On the windy days drifting
can be difficult as the boats moves too fast for anglers.
But, consider using a drift sock to slow the boats speed
allowing you too get more time in the productive areas.
Once you get a few bites, quietly drop the anchor or push
pole to stop the boat. This will allow you to work the area
thoroughly. When bite slows, go back to drifting until you
find another school of fish. If you don’t find any
trout in the basins on those cold mornings, stake-off in
one of the deep channels around Flamingo and bounce some
baits off the bottom. Don’t forget that Trout season
is closed through December so handle these fish with care
and get them back in the water quickly.
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Offshore
Report
This time of year
presents higher seas outside the reef. But, you don’t
have to go far because everything is happening is less than
200 feet. The sailfish have arrived in the keys and many boats
are putting up some good numbers of releases. It is not uncommon
this time of year to hook-up 20 plus sailfish in a day. Whether
you are suspending baits from kites, slow trolling or running
down bait showers you can expect a great bite just outside
the reef. Don’t be surprised if you accidentally hook
a mahi-mahi or kingfish while sailfishing. The wahoo bite
will begin to turn on for those who like to high speed troll
jet heads. Many top captains like black/red lures for the
wahoo. The black grouper and mutton snapper bite around the
reef can also provide an enjoyable day on the water. There’s
tons of ballyhoo around the reef and all it takes is a block
of chum and some small gold hooks to fill the well with enough
quality bait to make a good day. Search for good bottom, which
can be any type of structure from the reef out to 150 feet.
You can use a whole ballyhoo or cut them into plugs. Make
sure to use enough weight that your baits are making in down
to the bottom and hang on for the bite.
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Til’ next time, Tight Lines and Light Winds…….
Captain
Lain
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