Well, it’s Friday after Thanksgiving as I sit down to write this report. I have much to be thankful for, but my recent nuptials to Pamela are at the top of my list! Thanks Baby!
Thank the good Lord for family and friends, I think all of us fishermen are gonna need ‘em. With the incumbent president remaining in office, the next four years could be rougher than hurricane Sandy on fishermen and coastal towns. There is little hope for a reprieve in restrictive fishing regulations or relief from rising fuel costs. But enough of the personal and political news, let’s get along to the fishing report…
Unfortunately, there’s only about a week left in November and there is very little to report from offshore. There have only been a few fishable days and there were few fishermen willing to risk the expensive fuel to be the guinea pig. The few willing to brave it caught a little bit of everything, but not a whole bunch of any one thing.
If the weather in December straightens out, the fishing could be the pick-me-up we need to end the year on a good note. It’s the last month for recreational grouper fishing, so you better take advantage if you want some fresh grouper in the freezer for the first four months of lucky number 2013!! That is, unless you want to go to the store and buy some fine imported South or Central American grouper…. What a country!!! Anyway, we are going to need this wind to let up long enough for the water to clean up, so the grouper can find the bait. When the water finally cleans up, the grouper could be in as close as 80 feet, but the reefs and wrecks from 120’ out to the cones should be a solid bet. Bring plenty of large, live pinfish as the red snapper population has not been effected by that massive six day snapper season we had in September. If you fish from the 27 fathom ledge and offshore, the amberjacks will be a pretty good bet too.
Also dependent on the water cleaning up will be the kingfishing. December is typically the best month of the year for the kingfish, but it requires that the water is not muddy or the fish will pass right by us. When the water gets right, the fish should start to show up on the 60’ to 90’ reefs up and down the Space Coast (Can I Still call it the Space Coast after Obama shut down the space program?). When the fish show up, they should be here in substantial numbers. Once you find where they are holding, the fishing should be red hot. Live bait would be awesome, but not necessary. These migrating fish should respond well to frozen sardines slow trolled or drifted on stinger rigs. Mixed in with the kings, there should be good numbers of bonito, some blackfin tuna and an occasional wahoo or mahi.
For the diehard troller, December can be a great month too. Typically the sailfish are moving through on their way to the wintering grounds in Palm Beach. There should also be fair numbers of dolphin with a few blackfin tuna and wahoo. The trick will be finding the edge where the water cleans up from green to blue, however, don’t be afraid to spend a little time working the clean green water on the inside of the edge. Ballyhoo trolled on mono rigs near the teasers will work well for the mahi, sails and tuna. For the wahoo, try fishing ballyhoo/lure combos fished deep on the downrigger or way back in the spread.
Either way, go out there and get ‘em before you get Obama’d. Next year, you may have to let somebody else use your boat and pay for their fuel too!!
See ya on the pond!