By Capt. Bart Marx
Another year of resolutions that seem to fade after a few weeks, when you settle down past the holidays. So, I want to encourage all the anglers out there to invest some time into a young angler or a military veteran this year. Let the young kids know that we care about them and the ones that risked their lives to keep Freedom Free that we care for them too. This is how we get to enjoy the great sport of fishing where and when we want according to the guidelines that have been set.
This month you may find the near shore reefs teaming with sheepshead and flounder and on the natural bottom ledges lanes, grunts, porgies, and mangrove snapper. In these same areas using baits that have a crunch/crustations you may harvest some hogfish. Yes, little crabs, sand fleas, and you guessed it – shrimp too! The areas you may catch a trigger fish is a great start to find the hogs. The red grouper should be out in the deeper waters by now as the waters get cooler and depending on the water temp. 68-72 the king mackerel may still be chasing baits close to shore. This is the time of season to watch the weather reports for the cold fronts that show up with lots of wind that can be dangerous. Just saying.
So, let’s see what to look for on the inshore waters trout, there several ways to harvest these toothy critters. I enjoy getting the fly rod out and using a top water popper to get these guys to bite and it is lots of fun too. You may find reds along the mangroves or in the mouths of the creeks. Most of your bait this time of year should be shrimp, as this is the natural bite at this time. If you are out closer to the Gulf you may find sheepshead around the pilings of docks and trussles and in the sandy areas, you may find some flounder too. So, this year make some new rules in your fishing bag of tricks take a kid fishing or a Veteran. Look for the positive things in life and, show some grace to others.
Capt. Bart Marx can go with you on your boat show you some things about our area, to shorten the time of your learning curve. O if you have guests coming from the cold areas to and fish you may e-mail captbart@alphaomegacharters.com or cart Capt. Bart Marx at 941-979-6517. And always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile.