With old mother nature literally breathing down our necks from the north, super low tides and water temps dropping faster than the zeros in your 401K, we set out this week to catch some fish. Many of the spots that were holding good numbers of fish last week were empty. We managed to get things going a little bit in the deeper residential canals and also around the power plant out flows where the water was warmer than the air for most of the week. Good numbers of 2 to 3lb Sheepshead have harbored up in residential canals making for some really good fishing. The canals offer great protection from the wind as well. Just take some 1/0 hooks and some #3 split shot and go to town with some regular shrimp. Hold on tight though because Sheepshead will put up a heck of a fight. They do battle very similar to the way a Redfish does. Our biggest Sheepy of the week was pushing 5 pounds. My clients also managed to catch some nice Redfish and Trout as well. We even did battle with about a 27 inch Goliath Grouper. Capt. Billy reports that the Grouper trolling bite has been steady but not great. The recent windy trend has made it tough to get out there very often. We both agree that this cold snap should turn the Grouper bite on in the Bay as well as light up the near shore reefs and wrecks. The Trout bite along the deeper flats should also pick up dramatically but remember that Trout season in the south region is closed until 1 January so remember your dehooker and release those fish unharmed to be caught another day.
You can catch Capt. Mike Anderson and Capt. Billy Nobles every Sunday morning on AM1040 8:00 -10:00 a.m. You can also catch us on News Channel 8 at 6:30a.m. On Saturday’s and Sunday’s at 11:00 a.m. for the Reel Animals fishing show or call 1-866-GAMEFISH to book a charter.
