STEINHATCHEE November Fishing Report
Cooling Down while Heating Up
Historically, November is a month, when the weather cools down noticeably, while the fishing heats up happily. Many outdoors people miss the fishing part because they’re in the woods. To each their own, but I’d rather be in a boat gripping and ripping than be in a stand, being quiet with doe pee on my boots. Actually, I’m not a big hunter, so I don’t get the big in-the-woods thrill; I just like eating the expensive wild critter meat others provide on occasion. Besides, there ain’t no ticks or chiggers on a boat.
November is the mass migration of pelagic fish. Fish, such as cobia, kingfish, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, etc. are southbound following the bait. It is time to intercept them, to relieve them of such a long swim. Furthermore, all listed fish will be passing by near our coastline, locally referred to as “the hill”. An ironic term in Florida.
An easy way to collect the pelagic species, as well as, grouper and seabass, is to slow troll (~4kts) an eclectic spread of spoons, jigs and plugs preferably in and around bait pods. Most of the trolling will be done inside of thirty-five feet in depth.
Anything that mimics the baitfish being pursued is a good start. Also, every fish hates a lizardfish. It is the Eddy Haskell of the fishing neighborhood. So a plug with a yellow belly, and a brownish back, often catch fish when other colors fail to work. That is a professional “slip of the mouth”.
Never release a lizardfish! They are great bait, dead or alive. Setup correctly as bait, fish will hit it out of pure revenge from the nips and bites received during its lifetime from pesky lizardfish.
Grunt fishing in and around thirty-five feet is simply yo-yo fishing. Over good live-bottom, drop a chunk of cut-bait, squid, or gulp, then slowly count to three, and set the hook! The grunts are large, most fun caught on light tackle and delicious to eat. It only takes an hour or so at anchor or drifting to catch enough grunt to make a fish fry, to make many people happy.
Trout and redfish fishing will be amped up in November. The cooler water, flips on the EAT switch. The special aspect is the topwater action. I’d rather catch one on the top than ten on a jig, just due to the excitement. The bite, as always, is better first of the morning and of the evening, but with the cooler water, the bite is prolonged! Fabulous Fall Fishing ahead!