Dec is a stressful month for most with the holidays, family, travel, end of the year at work and more but that’s why there’s fishing to bring your stress level down! Depending on how many cold fronts have dipped south I still like to get on a solid snook bite early in the month before the season closes on the 14th . I expect the water to be in the mid to high 60’s at least till the middle of the month so fish the outgoing tides and if you can sneak out , those early evening ( after dark ) high to outgoing should produce some studs!!
Let’s move on to my favorite December fish and that’s Black Drum , also known as the big uglies . I catch these fish year round but I always get my trophy fish in Dec and January. These fish are found from the shallows to offshore but around ponce inlet I focus on getting them off the bottom. Blu crab is by far my favorite bait but I catch them on shrimp , fiddler crabs, sand fleas, cut bait etc . With these fish typically foraging around the rocks I like 40 lb leader and a 3/0-5/0 hook . I’ve caught them on just about every tide including slack but just like their cousins the red drum I prefer the high switching to outgoing. Black drum are also delicious to eat , with a slot of 14-24” I typically will keep anything from 18-22” if my customers would like to enjoy a fish sandwich after their charter. As always get out and fish and if you see us on the water say hello!
Capt. Jamie Thrappas
Yellow Dawg Fishing
www.yellowdawgfishing.com