by Ron The Pirate
Its not the most pleasant of days outside right now. The fish are still there just takes more willingness on our part to catch them. Watching the weather channel becomes a part time hobby for the serious fisherman this time of year. You have to be ready to seize the moment. I would try to keep all of my tackle handy and ready to go- never know when the sun might pop out and the wind lay down.
I’m Ron and Im all about fishing.
The redfish bite has slowed tremendously. Each pier I have visited is down to about 1 redfish a day and bull reds have become rare(fear not they will return). A few trout both white and speckle are being taken in Ocean Springs as well as the Biloxi pier I really wish I could say fish are “knocking the bait out of the water” but, thats just not true, its slow. On the brighter side of fishing, I have gotten some good reports about sheepsheads, sizes seem to be respectable and the numbers plentiful. Several fishermen have taken big black drums near the Treasure Bay Casino. A few large speckled trout are being taken off the pier pylon, but your going to have to put in time and work for these. The bigger trout are going to be hanging near structures with deeper water. Make no mistake, you have to fish slow.
This time of year finding live shrimp becomes a real issue. So here’s an easy tip. Take down all the numbers of the local bait shops and stash them in your phone. Start looking for bait the day/night before and always call more than one bait shop (a fallback is required). Few things can irritate me more than not being able to find live bait when I want it. Live Bull minnows makes for some pretty good bait also, sometimes better than shrimp.
Now is a perfect time of year for a fisherman to set his affairs in order. Start by cleaning reels then oiling. Rods should be inspected closely- eyes almost always need to be replaced. All line should be stripped and relined, easy to do while watching bowl games. Old fishing line will can hurt your feelings and ruin your day. Keeping spare fishing line in your box is a must. I like to dump out the tackle box tackle on Christmas afternoon (personal holiday tradition). For some unknown reason things spontaneously appear in my tackle box that are never used or wanted. An excess of hooks, leaders, popping corks, and weights all in variety of shapes and sizes is required. Artificial baits are more of a personal choice generally, I favor white or green colors. A post christmas shopping trip to a tackle shop returning with heavy bags makes me feel like a new man. Take time and get it together big fish are coming back.
Please feel free to show me your pics and tell me your stories, this is all about you the Coastal Angler.
I’m Ron and I’m all about fishing