by Capt. Kelly Kofmehl
November makes me think about turkeys, pumpkins, family and hunting. My family always spends Thanksgiving in the woods at our hunting camp; good times and great food, with friends and family. As much as I love the woods, I have to come out and fish every now and then. I can never stay away from the saltwater of the Nature Coast for any length of time.
I’ve been using a new bait, as of late, and by the looks of the success I’m having with it, I expect it to continue into December. It is the 3D TPE Shrimp, made by Savage Gear. On a recent trip with clients, I was trying the Savage shrimp while my clients were throwing another bait. I wanted to try the unproven bait before I gave it to someone to use. They were using Cajun Thunder popping corks with an 18 inch leader and a jig on the bottom of the rig. It is rare that I fish with my clients, but they insisted that I did. I wanted to try the bait, so I stayed in the back of the boat while the two of them shed out of the front. It was about 30 minutes into the trip when my clients were ready to switch over to the Savage shrimp. It was easy to see the diference in action I was getting on my line.
With the cooler nights of November and the waters cooling down, the red fish bite will be a little more aggressive. We’ve had a good summer with the reds and most of the fish that we caught have been at the top end of the slot or larger. The fall months should be the same. Mackerel and other striking fish that migrate south for the winter are on the move as well. Some large schools have been spotted in about 30 feet of water. There will be smaller schools within a couple miles of the shore line. The gag grouper bite has also been strong in shallow water. All of these fish will stay strong until the water temps fall into the 60 to 65 degree range. This Thanksgiving season let’s all take time to be thankful for the things that we have been blessed with; we all have something.
Capt Kelly Kofmehl
Inshore and Back Country Fishing
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