With the redfish spawn basically behind us what should we look forward to now? Cooler weather for sure and hopefully without too much wind. November is notoriously windy and signals a real transition in seasons and weather patterns.
As of mid-October we’ve already felt the effects of Old Man Winter. We have had several weak cold fronts move through our area. Although our nights have cooled down enough to keep us quite comfortable our days have still been almost summertime warm.
I’m expecting November to bring us water temperatures that our predatory fish truly thrive in. As water temperatures drop into their preferred ranges we will see our redfish, black drum and spotted seatrout become more active for longer periods of time. I know of no other single factor which dictates a fish’s need to eat than water temperatures agreeable to the fish’s metabolism.
Another important seasonal factor is a change of diet. All during our warm weather seasons our fish have been able to pick and choose from a myriad of foodstuffs. Finfish in many forms; mullet, pinfish, pigfish and a multitude of minnows and fry-fish have provided an easy meal whenever the mood struck. Eventually our population of finfish migrates off the shallows and the predators must switch to what remains.
Shellfish will become the prominent forage during our cool water seasons. Fortunately, Mother Nature staggers the shrimp season to peak during the finfish’s off season. Yes, shrimp will be my primary offering during the winter. If not live, my boat will have dead shrimp or artificial shrimp on at least one rod at all times.
I might mention here shrimp is our mainstay cool water bait, but crabs and clams are important too. While I don’t have an artificial clam to fall back on I do have an artificial crab. The Cajun Crab by Exude is a favorite lure for me from late fall through spring. Rigged weedless I’ve caught plenty of redfish and black drum on them and more seatrout than you might expect as well as a flounder or two.
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