Capt. Rick Davidson, Editor (grassflats2@yahoo.com)
Fishing report November 2022
We’re hoping everyone has had a great Thanksgiving, as we did at the Sea Hag Marina. Mild temperatures made the fishing a little inconsistent this month, but there were lots of fish to be caught. Inshore fishing was excellent, and red snapper season ended at the end of the month. Gag grouper were coming in to the cleaning tables in good numbers. Those that took advantage of the mild weather so far were rewarded with some great catches.
Click on any photo to see larger version!
December Fishing Forecast
As unusual as the warm weather has been, it won’t continue, and we’ll start to see winter temperatures in December. That always makes things more challenging, because with cold snaps most inshore fish move to deeper water and off the flats. Redfish may stay close to shore but they are much less active. Both inshore species are much less likely to aggressively chase plugs and jigs. While much of the year we fish early in the day, in the winter we’ll frequently wait until the warming trend mid-day. Even one or two degrees difference in the water temperature can make a huge difference in fish activity. Lures can still produce fish, but it’s important that the speed of lures be decreased dramatically. Slow sinking lures worked very slowly are the ticket if you can locate afternoon trout in areas of structure, or working jigs with Gulp tails slowly near the bottom with work in deeper water. Redfish will remain in areas of structure like oyster and shell bars. Live shrimp or cut bait will work when it’s very cold.
And another thing we can look forward to: severe cold snaps that will bring trout into the river in large numbers, along with lots of anglers. Conditions have to be right, but when the temps get down into the 30’s trout will head for holes in the river. Many years these temps don’t occur until January and February, but it can happen any time. Next month we’ll talk about tricks to fish successfully in the river.
There are several events taking place this month, and both are on December 10th. The Eggnog Open, a regular winter tournament, will have a captain’s meeting at the marina the night of the 9th. And after the tournament will be the annual Steinhatchee Boat Parade, which will start at the Sea Hag around 6:30. There is a decoration competition; to apply in advance, please contact the marina. The route is shown below.
If you are having trouble deciding on Christmas presents for those you love, we’ve got a lot of options. We all want to take the opportunity to thank all our friends and customers for their patronage; The Sea Hag wishes everyone everywhere the happiest of Christmas seasons and we hope to see you this month
