by Capt. Brian Clancy
Happy Holidays everyone! Fishing in November was great and December is going to get better as the redfish school up. December 21st is the official start of winter and the shortest day of the year, Winter Solstice. Cold fronts will become more frequent but usually will have a fast warm-up afterwards. Water temperatures will drop and so will the water levels in the lagoon. Throughout the month the water clarity will vary, the colder the water, the clearer it will get. Water temperatures in the 60’s will clear up most areas in the lagoon and in the 50’s water should look like gin. Pinfish will start getting scarce as well as finger mullet. Redfish will be feeding on grass shrimp. With the low water levels, redfish will be more visible on the grass flats while working the bottom looking for crustaceans. To get the force necessary to feed on the bottom, in the grass, they must tip up or “tail”. It’s not unusual to see a small group of redfish “tailing” at the same time, with those blue tipped tails waving above the surface. To me, that’s what fishing this time of year in the lagoon is all about. Stealth, patience and accurate casts get you hooked up for a good pull on the drag. Live shrimp, shrimp-like artificials and sometimes a top-water worked slow gets the job done. It’s definitely the time to break out a fly rod. Weedless shrimp imitations, crabs and sometimes a weedless pinfish or mullet pattern with soft accurate presentations gets the action. Dress in layers for comfort, cold mornings and warm afternoons are the rule.
Enjoy the outdoors, get on out there!
Capt. Brian Clancy Mosquito Lagoon Fish Camp Waterfront Accommodations and Fishing Charters 311 River Road, Oak Hill, Fl 32759
Visit Website www.mosquitolagoonfishcamp.com Email bclancy1@cfl.rr.com Cell, text and voicemail (386) 566-6303