It’s the last month to take a shot at grouper. The closure starts in January for spawning season and will run all the way through April. The grouper will start to stage and group together as females seek out the larger males to spawn with. If you’re lucky enough to find a pre-spawning group, you can catch one grouper after another. Most of them will be in the deeper water off Sebastian. The ledges starting in 160 foot and as far out as 300 feet can be red hot. If the current is relatively slack, drop anchor and use a 20-foot leader with about a pound of weight and a big slab of kingfish for bait. If you’re on a good rock, it shouldn’t take long for a solid hookup. Leave the rod in a holder and when it bends down to the water, you’ve got one. Drifting with live grunts, pinfish and beeliners is productive as well.
December is the month for sailfish! Head out near the Gulfstream and check out rips, temperature changes and any kind of fishy looking edge (i.e. weedlines) you can find. Trolling with ballyhoo or skirted lures, as well as slow trolling live bait, is the way to go.
Look for shrimp boats a little south of the inlet, out in the 140 foot grounds, as they spend the day anchored up. If you get out there at daybreak, when they are culling their catch, you can run into all kinds of fish. It’s a chum slick that attracts fish from miles away. As you approach the shrimp boats, do so with stealth. Put an angler on the bow with a rod ready to make a cast toward any targets that present themselves. Expect to find dolphin, cobia, sailfish and blackfin tuna and many other rod bending species.
FORECAST BY: Capt. Bill Stewart
Rogue Wave Fishing Charters
www.roguewavefishing.com
Email: roguewavefishing@gmail.com
(772) 388-2950
