Depending on the water temperatures in the month of November the bite outside of Port Canaveral can either be fantastic or just mediocre. Hopefully we will see another fantastic year like we had last year with good weather conditions and calm seas during most of the month. When the seas are less than three feet anglers can get out into the Bight by boat and find Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel, Ladyfish, Shark, Redfish and Snook working schools of baitfish that are migrating southward along the beaches. These will include pilchards, menhaden, or fingerling and full sized mullet on most days. Good rigging techniques for the smaller baitfish include putting them on a 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 ounce HookUp brand jig head or a sliding sinker rig. For the larger mullet and full sized menhaden, try using a 7/0 to 9/0 sized VMC circle hook and egg sinker for weight.
These larger baitfish will usually be struck by shark, large “bull” redfish, and the straggling tarpon that may still be around if the water temps stay above 74 degrees. Good artificial lures include the Rapala X-Rap minnows in the size 8, 10, or 12 models. The can be cast or trolled in the nearshore waters and along the shoreline for many of the species that have been mentioned.
Flounder may also be a possibility along the beaches on some days, but more than likely anglers will find better numbers of flounder inside of the Port Canaveral ship turning basins near rocky areas or at the base of piers and jetties. Tripletail anglers usually fish along the ships channel buoys or look for color changes, floating debris and weeds in the 20 to 50-foot depths from the north of the Port out to about Buoy #2. Toss a live shrimp to tripletail that are hanging around floating objects and you should get a positive response. I like to use a 2/0 or 3/0 circle hook attached to a piece of 30 pound test Sufix Fluorocarbon for this type of fishing. I generally do not use a weight on this rig to let the shrimp swim more naturally around the weeds or other floating structure that the tripletail may be hanging around. Pompano and whiting are normally abundant along the surf zones from the tip of the cape southward to Patrick Air Force Base and these tough little fish hit goofy jigs or small 1/8 and 1⁄4 ounce HookUp jigs tipped with s piece of shrimp or whole sand flee. The pink, orange, and chartreuse colors tend to work best for me on these fish.