Cooler weather sends fish on the move
With the cooler November weather nipping at our heels, you may find a number of species on the move, especially in the backcountry.
Snook are hastily making their way towards their wintertime haunts and in the process are voraciously on the feed so they can fatten up for winter.
On my Just Reel Fishing charters, I’m finding many schooley-sized fish in the 22-to 26-inch range. Rallies of 20 or more fish in an hour has been the norm. Free-lined live shiners cast over shallow flats and around mangroves during high tides are resulting in this bite. I’m also seeing trout and redfish being caught intermittently between snook bites. Although keeper snook are proving to be few and far between the keeper-size redfish and trout are giving visiting anglers a chance to leave the dock triumphantly carrying a bag of fillets to take home for dinner.
You may want to start carrying not only live shiners in your baitwell, but also some live shrimp. I’m noticing many sheepshead inhabiting the flats, especially around oyster bars. Black drum and redfish are also present in these areas and you know how much they both love to eat shrimp. Lastly, I’ve seen a few pompano skipping around and what better to catch them on a “shrimp tipped” jig.
