[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he cooling air and water temperatures associated with November, along with shorter daylight, will push a variety of larger baitfish out of the rivers to begin migrating south along our ICW and beaches. Many of our popular inshore fish will follow and this whole cycle will cause these fish to begin feeding very aggressively as they begin their winter migration patterns.
There will be a big shift in red drum populations with many slot and over slot reds following bait to the surf zone. Anglers will have much success throwing live bait, cut bait, or simply fishing a 1/2oz jig head tipped with a Berkley Gulp Shrimp. There will also be plenty of black drum upwards of 5lbs, a lot of speckled trout, tons of bluefish, and a variety of bottom fish working the surf with the reds.
The inlet connecting channels will be alive with bait and plenty of fish feeding on it. Anglers will find trout and flounder staging around eddies and tidelines on the falling tide, especially at small creek mouths and off points of marsh, grass flats, sandbars, and oyster beds. Use a jig head just heavy enough to achieve bottom contact between snap and retrieve motions and you can catch both species. I prefer an 1/8oz in 1 to 4ft of water, 1/4oz in 5 to 7ft of water, and 3/8oz or higher in depths of 8ft or more. Some of my favorite baits for trout include Bett’s Halo Shad and Perfect Shrimp as well as Mirrolure’s sinking twitch baits. Although most soft plastics will entice strikes, there is no doubt that scented baits like Berkley Gulp will result in more strikes and hookups.
November will continue to offer up some great nearshore fishing for Albacore as they continue their southerly/offshore migration this month. These fish show up near shore with amazing appetites, feeding on the countless schools of bait moving out of the inlets. There will be plenty of signs to indicate their presence. Anglers should look for gulls and terns working bait at the surface while scouring the inlet tide lines, the 30 to 40ft depth along the beaches, and all near shore hard bottoms. When heading into the ocean this month be sure will to bring along some BETT’S Flounder Fanatic Bucktails and Gulp Baits. We will be bouncing bucktails around the near shore hard bottoms and artificial reefs this month targeting those summer flounder as they stage up for their migration back offshore. There will be some Sea Bass, Triggerfish, Grunts, and Grouper mixed in while bottom fishing so be sure to keep some squid or cigar minnows and bottom rigs handy.
Keep Fish’n4life,
Capt. Jeff Cronk
Fish’n4life Charter, www.NCCHARTERFISHING.COM