To the angler who loves to fish the beaches, shores, jetties, bridges and piers of Florida.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
"FLOUNDERING" with Big Dave's land based lessons. How to get tight!
This time of year is typically when southern and gulf flounder begin their spawning run. Now, there are a few triggers to the bite but I truly feel that wind direction and water temperature are 90% of it. Post cold front conditions being a cool or cold North East breeze of 10-15 mph, water temperatures of 72 degrees and dropping, emerald green water with a light chop are my preferred conditions. The presence of large schools of finger mullet doesn't hurt either. I find that tide has little to do with the fish's feeding activity but everything to do with their location.
The fish will move between tides on the slack and take up positions in depressions in the bottom once it's roaring. That being said, it goes without saying that it is a rocky, not sandy bottom, that best serves as a staging area. Your looking for broken bottom in 1-4 feet of water. Look for the fish to be laying between the largest rocks or in the sandy holes scattered throughout the area.
I find that the biggest fish actually prefer to hang out in the heavier current. Flounder are built for ambushing prey in fast water. The current keeps them down, making it easy for them to conserve energy. Heavy current also makes it harder for small prey to maneuver. Simply put, if you want big fish, fish the current. Smaller fish tend to stack up in slower, sandy areas.
The first and last push of flounder of the year are frequently the larger dominant fish. Targeting them means being patient and utilizing baits many might consider to large. My favorite are 4-5 inch mullet, small pigfish or croakers no bigger than three inches and mojara. Larger baits tend to eliminate most of the fish ranging under about 18 inches on average. Fishing big baits means shortening your leader to no more than 8 inches. These baits are stronger and faster then smaller offerings like tiny finger mullet or mud minnows and are therefore harder for the fish to catch. By keeping them on a shorter leash, you keep them in the strike zone and in doing so, encourage more bites.
From Capt. Charlie @ Fishing Center - Ft Pierce
South Indian River Fishing Report 11/7 Inshore: Windy conditions still prevail along the Treasure Coast most days. Mornings can give you a short break in the winds, but it will build as the day wears on. Plan your outdoor adventures carefully and enjoy the fishing this month. Fishing has been good and the water quality is slowly getting better with each tide in Fort Pierce. Less rain this month will help the water. Water temperatures will slowly cool down as the milder temps will transition into winter patterns soon. Enjoy the fishing this month!
Croakers, jacks and snapper were the catch of the day. The big croakers are in the river. Our largest was 18&20inches to top off the morning. There are also black drum coming into the river now. Great table fare for both and lots of fun to catch. Top water lures are working on trout and snook on the grass flats at first light. It's a great time of year to get out early! Switch to a DOA shrimp as the morning progresses. Look for redfish to be hanging around docks and mangroves. Snook around the jetties will be good this month as well. Gotta love November fishing! Don't forget that the manatee zone in Fort Pierce from the north bridge to channel marker 189 below the south bridge will be in effect starting November 15th....so slow down to slow speed at that time.
Scouting Around Sebastian Area
Conditions are a little calmer today. Northeast winds are blowing at 11 mph, gusting to 18 and there is a moderate chop on the water. Northeast swells are creating poor to hazardous boating conditions near inlets, particularly on Wednesday. NOAA is calling for small craft to exercise caution.
The Snook bite remains strong. Anglers using shrimp are having the best luck. Bucktails work well for artificial bait. Reds are active along with Flounder, Sheepshead, big Jacks, Spanish Mackerel and Pompano. We should start seeing more Black Drum show up when the water temperature cools down more, although a few have already been caught.
Our photo today is courtesy of Mark Needham. Mark, Tara Andrews and Donna Bishop of Melbourne fished the north side when they got into a fantastic Snook bite! Mark reported many Snook were being landed, most were in the slot. The trio each kept one slot Snook and returned the others to fight another day.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
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