Regardless of which way the weather turns, December always means great fishing along the Dunedin Causeway, Clearwater Bay, St. Joseph Sound and our three barrier islands; Caladesi, Honeymoon and Three Rookers islands.
As the water cools into the 60’s the bite for many inshore species like Speckled trout, sheepshead and flounder really picks up. This month we will also see the return of hard fighting Silver trout to our grass flats, and redfish will be patrolling the mangrove shorelines and oyster bars along the mainland shores as well as the insides of the barrier islands.
You don’t have to have a boat to catch your share of any of these fish, as they will make their presence known near the Causeway shores and around the two bridges. Shore anglers can extend their range to reach even more productive fishing areas by simply donning chest waders to keep out the cold and wading the shallows along the Causeway.
The north side of the Causeway is all lush grass flats that hold plenty of Speckled and Silver trout. Wearing polarized sunglasses makes it easy to target the sand spots and edges of the grass, and this is where I like to cast my baits. A big live shrimp or a Gulp shrimp tail pinned under a Cajun Thunder popping cork are two great ways to find keeper fish. Just remember, if you get into a bunch of smaller fish it’s time to move a couple of hundred yards down. Little trout don’t hang with the big boys, because the big ones will eat them!
For flounder and reds, the south side of the Causeway is where you want to be, as the bottom is mostly sand, gravel and rock. Here I like to tail-hook a big live shrimp on a 1/4 oz. jig head (just remember to pinch off the fan of the tail first). I cast out every five degrees from left to right, let the weighted jig hit bottom and then jig it back in using short hops and letting the bait rest for a few moments. With every hop the rig puffs up a little jet of sand that fish key on and the tail-hooked shrimp looks perfectly natural jetting backwards to escape predators.
Sheepshead can be found in good numbers around rock piles, oyster encrusted dock and bridge pilings, and shore bulkheads. While sheepshead will readily take a live shrimp, my favorite bait for these tasty beauties is a live fiddler crab pinned under a popping cork or on a jig head. The floating rig reaches the fish high in the water column and the jig rigged bait will nail the bottom feeders.
Offshore there will still be some kingfish hanging around, but the big story here is grouper. As the water cools grouper move closer to shore and can be nailed in as little as ten feet of water. Target wrecks, ledges and rock piles for Gags and hardbottom areas for Red grouper. December is when I like to break out my big diving plugs and troll them behind the boat. I generally start in about 20 feet of water and work my way to 30 feet. Whenever I get a hit on the trolling lures I throw out a marker and go back to study the bottom on my fish finder and drop live baits down wherever I find structure.
No matter what type of fishing you plan to do, for the best in frisky live baits, including shrimp, pinfish and fiddler crabs, and to get the lowdown on hot fishing spots in our area, make sure to stop into Barracuda Bob’s on the Dunedin Causeway. Our friendly and knowledgeable crew can help make your fishing trip more fun and productive!