Rick Davidson (grassflats2@yahoo.com), Editor
"The RedManiac"
November is always an exciting fishing month in Steinhatchee. The grouper fishing is really getting hot right now, there are kingfish and Spanish mackerel just finishing up their migration, and the inshore fishing has continued to be excellent. The only problem is the weather, which is always unpredictable, but we’ve had some great weather this year. The Sea Hag cleaning tables have been jammed with large gag grouper and amberjack, and the grouper are being found in much shallower water as is usual this time of year…. as shallow as 20 to 25 feet in depth. Meanwhile, the inshore fishing has continued to be very productive. There have been several tournaments this month, including two Gainesville Offshore Fishing Club tournaments. Below I’ve included some pictures from the Redfish Roundup, won by Joey Landreneau with a 6.91-pound redfish. Almost everyone who participated managed a redfish or two. I’ve also included a few pictures from the last week from my trips, including Doug Barrett with a fine red and trout, and a 6.5-pound red I got to the boat. I’ve also included a picture of the new addition to the Sea Hag family, Shallow, with her friend and confidant, Chaeli Norwood. Say hi to Shallow when you’re visiting the Ship’s Store.
Finally, we've had lots of interest from visitors to the site about downloading and printing photos. All of the photos on this page are available in larger sizes at Google's Picasa2 site in the Novermber 2007 Web Album. Simply click for access---and enjoy!
Captain Brian Smith, www.bigbendcharters.com
I don’t see how grouper fishing could get any better unless they’re actually throwing themselves in your boat. Hard bottom around the fifty foot depth has produced some grouper bites like it used to be. Keep moving until you find the fish or…isn’t that what trolling is? The grouper are hitting the plastic. As a matter of fact, the red grouper limit of one (did you know the population is too low?) is forcing me to troll. How’s that you say? Getting the limit of red grouper happens rather quickly; too quickly. We can’t keep them off our hooks when bottom fishing. Gag grouper are more prone to hit the plastic than the red grouper. Furthermore, picking up a gag on the troll not only puts one more fish in the box, but more importantly lets you know where more gag grouper are hanging out. You can backtrack and do some bottom fishing. Kingfish are a pleasant surprise during trolling as well. A fresh king steak, marinated in a equal parts of soy sauce and melted butter, and tossed on the grill is hard to beat.
Amberjack are hit or miss. If you find yourself around a structure that is known to hold AJ’s on occasion, then be sure and drop some live bait or jigs. If they are there, then enjoy, but don’t camp in hopes of a bite. Florida snapper have been running large if you can talk someone out of using a grouper rod for a half hour to pound some pinks. One five-gallon bucket is approximately thirty pounds of Florida snapper and plenty for a good fish fry.
In general, the fishing is great when the wind ain’t blowing the seas over five foot. Always exercise caution; sometimes it is better to go another day than play in rough waters.
Captain Steve Rassell, www.lastcastrass.com
The trout fishing continues to be good to excellent. Plenty of small fish can be found almost everywhere on the flats. Keepers seem to be a little more difficult to locate. One day you catch a limit; the next day you have to work for your catch. Fish are not in the river yet in large numbers, but will move closer with the cooler weather. Redfish continue to be plentiful, with a few of the ‘bull’ reds beginning to show up on the deeper flats. Black sea bass are also starting to show up around the deeper rock beds.
Captain Tommy Thompson, www.flanaturecoast.com/capttommy
Well, here we are at the end of November and the fishing’s just beginning to get into a ‘wintertime’ pattern. If we could just get a few more cold days, the bite will really improve as the big trout start to congregate near the shoreline in their annual spawning ritual. You’ll certainly catch a few nice trout on the deeper flats, but they’ll be mixed with some smallish ones. Those big ‘mama’ trout will mostly be cruising the shoreline looking for mullet to eat. Reds and blues are also close to shore, especially is we get some warm afternoons following frigid mornings. If we get a really cold two or three days and the barometer gets high, try fishing close to shore late in the day—just watch your prop and lower unit. I tore mine up on a bar I’d been over a thousand times earlier in the month—just not paying attention!
Topwater lures are my bait of choice. There’s nothing like a big trout, red or blue crashing a Skitterwalk or Heddon Super Spook, Jr. If you prefer to fish corks, try the D.O.A. shrimp rather than a live one. I’m convinced the ¼ oz. ‘glow’ shrimp will outfish live bait. Those of you who are good fly casters will have fun with these big winter fish if you can make long, stealthy casts. Clouser-style minnows are good for both trout and reds, but the old ‘stand-by’ DuPre Spoon Fly is hard to beat for reds and the occasional black drum. There’s a good chance that the trout will move into the river by Christmas, so be prepared. Live shrimp or GULP! shrimp on jig heads work fine, but I prefer D.O.A. TerrorEyz jigs for this style of bottom fishing.
Captain Rick Bouley, www.naturecoastflatsfishing.com
November in the shallow water around Steinhatchee has been extremely productive on the falling tides, while the incoming have been only so-so. The water temps have fallen into the 50's for brief periods following the cold fronts and have pushed the large reds and trout into the shallows. I fished a group of guys from the Boston area last week and pretty much lost count of the 5+ lb. redfish that came to the boat on the falling tide. The larger fish were double digit and the smallest red of the day was 3 lbs. Trout were much the same with only 3 or 4 fish all day under 20", many caught on Corky lures. However when the conditions became calm the only successful bait was a "Gulp" jerk bait. Two days later as the wind picked up and the next cold front approached there were no fish to be found in the areas that had been so productive. We had several days of pretty good fly- fishing this month with several species coming to the boat each day. Suspending flies were the ticket under most conditions, while weighted "Big-Eye" styles did better as the current and wind increased. Both reds and trout are fattening up for winter and under the right conditions can be extremely aggressive this time of year. I have a limited amount of days available between now and the first of the year.
Captain Walt Carlson, www.captainwalt.com
The weather is cool but fishing is hot… at least offshore is! Most everyone is getting limits or near limits of grouper. I saw two large gags last week, one 17 pounds and the other 18 pounds, along with many red grouper over 10 pounds. Now is the time to get in your grouper fishing…the only trouble is getting the weather right. I had plans to go over the Thanksgiving weekend but weather put a stop to those plans. Inshore has slowed up with everyone having trouble finding fish due to low tides, but if you have a airboat as I do you can get up the creeks, fish the deep holes and have a great time. I have been getting a limit of redfish every time I go. Trout have been few, but with this weather I'm sure the trout are now in the creeks in better numbers. Tight lines and good fishing!
Captain Steve Hart, www.legallimitscharters.com
DECEMBER 2007 FISHING FORECAST
The outlook for December fishing is good. Offshore, the grouper bite will continue to be excellent, with these cold months being the best time of the year for gags in relatively shallow waters of 24 to 45 feet. Kingfish will largely be gone but may be around if the temperatures are moderate this month. Be on the lookout for the beginning of the sheepshead spawn on offshore structure. Very hard to predict the exact time, and in recent years it’s been as late as late February before the major spawn started, but there should be some smaller male fish available on offshore structure this month.
Inshore, things will be weather-driven. With consistent cold temperatures, the trout and redfish will head for deeper water, which will mean offshore or into holes in creeks, or hopefully into the Steinhatchee River. Some trout have already been taken in the river during the cold spell over Thanksgiving weekend. With varying temperatures the fish will move back and forth from the flats into deeper water. This time of year it’s always most rational to plan on fishing later in the day after the water temp has risen to the point where the fish are active. Fish with live shrimp, standard 52M Mirrolures, jigs with Gulp shrimp or D.O.A. TerrorEyz jigs bounced along the bottom. Whatever you’re fishing, slow it down with colder temperatures. And stop by the Ship’s Store for some hot coffee, snacks and all the fishing tackle you’ll need. Tight lines!
