November can be an exceptional month for fishing out of Stuart, Florida for a variety of species including sailfish, dolphin, wahoo, grouper, snapper and amberjack. As weather continues to transition into winter, the fish continue to migrate south with every passing cold front. Usually by mid-November, things start to come together. Best methods for targeting dolphin, sailfish and wahoo would be trolling with ballyhoo and splittail mullet. Incorporating a dredge of real or rubber fish will enhance your chances drastically to attract these targeted species into your spread. Using circle hooks on your ballyhoo is preferred method during the winter months to help preserve the stock of billfish since they are all being released anyway.
As the swell rolls in so do the grouper, snapper and amberjack. It is not uncommon to catch amberjack up to 100 pounds and grouper to 40 pounds in November. The preferred method we have is using live blue runners and grunts for bait fished on the bottom with 120 pound braid and a 10/0 circle hook rigged with 125 pound Ande leader. Hold on tight because these fish are bruisers.