By: Capt. Philip Watson
The water temperature this month can dip down into the low 60’s and high 50’s this time of year. When the water gets this cold sometimes it is difficult to get a fast bite going offshore. The fish are cold and their metabolism is slow. Fish that will typically bite well when it’s cold are Key West Grunts, Porgys, Hogfish, and Gag Grouper. Each fish has a different presentation that they prefer but all around I like to use smaller baits with the lightest leader possible.
For Gag Grouper stock up on Pinfish which are typically easy to come by this time of year on the shallow grass flats. Once you’ve got your bait head to your favorite ledge or rock pile and start your fishing. I typically like to start off using smaller baits like squid and shrimp to get the bottom bite going. Once things start to happen down there, fire your pinfish down. You will always have a hungry fish down there but getting the bottom turned on will draw more fish to your boat.
Our trip this month was with my boy Chase Carrion who put on another snapper CLINIC! We originally planned on going out to the red snapper grounds but mother nature had other plans. We switched gears and headed to some rock piles known for mangrove snapper. Second bait in the water and Chase had on a nice but under sized cobia that we lost at the boat, but after that the snapper started piling on the deck. After his fill with snapper we switched to a grouper rod where he landed and nice 25” gag and got completely smoked by a few others. It was an all-around epic day ending with 35-40 mangroves, 1 Gag, 1 Hogfish, and a fish basket full of grunts and porgys.
Some business news form Just Kickin Back Charters, we have recently Purchased a custom-built Carolina Skiff for Inshore fishing so stay tuned for more information on that coming up.
Just Kickin Back Charters
Captain Philip Watson
Anna Maria Island, Florida
www.justfishfl.com