Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2019 i Florida Sportsman

As a preview of coming attractions, it looks as if some of us might be adding some new gear to our reef fishing kit in 2020. And it’s not what you might expect. We’re not talking about some new jig, line or other accessory for bringing fish up. We’re going the opposite direction—taking fish back down. It’s not set in stone, but the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has approved “best practices” for reef fishing in federal waters of the South Atlantic. That would apply to all those reefs and ledges we like to fish starting three miles off Florida’s east coast. One of these practices would be the possession and use of descender devices, or fish elevators, to help get undersize or out-of-season snappers and groupers back down where…

AS IT SAYS in their brochure, Duette Preserve is not a state Wildlife Management Area. It is managed by Manatee County Government. Duette’s regulations are more restrictive than the state regulations. They accept applications with full payment on a first-come, first-serve basis until hunts are sold out. A copy of a Hunter Safety Certificate is required upon registration, without exception. After that, hunters must attend one of several orientations. Failure to do so will result in not being able to hunt Duette. Roughly a month before archery season starts, Duette will open to hunters to place their treestands, with each hunter being permitted two stands. Names and telephone numbers must be affixed to any stand. While Duette is closed to other user groups during hunting weekends, anyone can access it…

SEND US YOUR PHOTOS WE WELCOME your fishing and hunting photos for publication in the Action Spotter and in our online community galleries at www.floridasportsman.com. SEND DIGITAL PICTURES, 600 KB to 1 MB in jpeg format. For smartphone photos, email the Actual Size—highest resolution. Images must not have appeared or been submitted elsewhere. Send photos to: photos@floridasportsman.com. INCLUDE NAMES of people pictured, hometowns, location of catch and any key details, such as weight of big catches. NOW ON PODCAST! Florida Sportsman magazine’s READER- FAVORITE Action Spotter section has gone PODCAST. Every Thursday at 7 p.m., tune in to find out where the bite is in your backyard and across the state. EACH WEEK, host Capt. Rick Ryals will dial in on the bite across the state, mirroring the…

Trout Tactics Spotted seatrout is arguably the most targeted fish this time of year for several reasons. For starters, trout are abundant when the water turns “cold” and are at their most active when the water temps are below 80 degrees. In addition, they are abundant as they tend to school up so catching several from a specific area is more common than not. In addition, they hit a variety of baits, are good fighters with their head shaking antics and are also easy to fillet. Combine those attributes and you have a highly sought-after species for anglers of all skill level and age. Targeting the spotted silver trout in our region can be done a variety of different ways, but you can almost bank on finding them in two…

Shallow Water In Sight Extra low tides in the winter months make for some awesome sight-fishing opportunities. Adding to the thrill, as water temperatures fall and algae growth diminishes, the waters clear up significantly. Find these conditions and a few days of light winds, and you’ll find it’s great for seeing fish. On the other hand, they can also see you as well, making long casts and stealthy, quiet approaches important to success. Negative low tides can push fish into potholes and channel edges that consolidate fish, making them easier to find and target. Casts to clear water fish with artificial lures should be as quiet as possible. Light jigs or lures that land softly may not spook wary fish, but for the ultimate, a fly at the end of…

’Hoos on First Coast Florida is the best state in the country for a fisherman to live, and December is a huge reason why. While we can count on plenty of cool windy days, there’s hardly ever a day where there’s not somewhere to get out of the wind and catch quality fish. For the freshwater guys the cooler water temps mean two things. For the bass fishermen as we reach the end of the month the mama bass will start looking for places to raise a family. That means fishing a big wild shiner around the outsides of structures and weed beds. Specks will also become more active as the water cools. While it’s generally still best to “spider rig” in open water for specks, there will be a…

Tarpon Trickery in T & T Tarpon grace the waters of many Caribbean destinations, and Trinidad and Tobago boasts one of the most unique and wonderfully challenging fisheries. “There are a lot of fish, and a lot of very big fish,” said Capt. Jonathan De La Rosa, who runs Monsta Tarpon Sport Fishing. “What really separates our fishery from many others around the Caribbean and Florida is there is little to no boat pressure, so the fish aren’t skittish at all. When they come into the channels to eat, they eat.” The channels Jonathan refers to are naturally formed canyons between the islands that dot the northwest tip of Trinidad, which happen to be within reasonable proximity to the airport in the capital city of Port of Spain. I’ve fished…

It was a winter day near Everglades City around 1970 when my junior high schoolmate’s dad took us up a winding, mangrove-lined creek. I had fished the flats and oyster bars of Chokoloskee Bay and Turner River, but I’d never been where we were heading. “We have a secret spot,” my buddy yelled over the whine of a 10-horse outboard. We saw no other boats en route. We rounded a sharp bend into a small bay and his dad cut the motor. He stared at the opposite bank and went silent for a full minute. He finally slapped his knee and blurted, “What’s that guy doing in our spot?” “What are we going to do, Dad?” my buddy asked. “Wait until they leave?” “I don’t know son. Dang, and we…

Stay Calm and Fish On As the temperature gradually drops, the fishing picks up in the deep blue water, as well as in the shallow backcountry waters of the Florida Keys. Cold fronts will be pushing through every week and knowing where to fish is paramount. It’s all about the leeward side of the Keys! If you read my column, I often refer to the leeward side or the protected side of the island, it is opposite to the direction of the wind. Winds can gust over 25 knots for many days in a row and unless you are fishing in a large yacht, these conditions make for a rough and often dangerous time on the water. By fishing the leeward side and staying close to shore, you can have…

Deep into Winter December in Florida. One day might be blue jeans and a hoodie weather, the next might be flip flops and a tank top. One thing for certain is the variety this month in the Southeast region is hard to beat. Snook season closes on the 15th of the month. If you’re looking to catch a slot-sized fish before then, go deep. Deep docks and structure that is. These areas, such as the Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart, offer a more constant water temperature than the shallow areas. With cold fronts rolling through this month and snook being susceptible to these cold temperatures, rapid drops can send these fish into shock, possibly killing them (remember 2010?). There is one catch to this, though. On those beautiful “blue bird” days…

Lucky Horseshoe Consider our Big Bend coastline. Whenever I’m asked to describe it, one word usually comes to mind: rough. For the most part, the close-in shore is littered with what are, or used to be, oyster reefs. Many are now worn down to shelly sand and rocks, and others are crusted with live oysters. Some appear at moderate tides and others only on extreme lows. Any can be waded so long as you are properly attired and don’t mind scratching your boat’s bottom in the effort to get to them. You'll find bars suitable for wading all along the Big Bend, but two potentially great areas come to mind. Successful bar fishing requires knowledge of their importance to the fishery. First, bars alter tidal or estuarine water flow and…

Adapt and Overcome Anglers need to be flexible this month, willing to change plans according to what nature offers up. December can be an unstable month fishing wise. Conditions can vary from sudden cold fronts to balmy weather on Christmas Day. Fish react accordingly. Trout and redfish aren’t likely to be lounging around on the shallow grass flats when the temperatures have dropped drastically for several days. They also won’t be in deep holes up river when it’s been warm enough to go to the beach for a week. Striped bass is one species that’s rather predictable in their reaction to fall. In Florida, stripers exist on the southern extreme of their preferred habitat (55-68 degrees). Which means, they barely hang on when the water temperature gets in the high…

GAME PLAN: In the winding middle stretches of the river, cool weather puts largemouth bass on the feed, as they fatten up for the spring spawn. Be prepared for temps from 30 to 70 degrees. GUIDED FISHING: Capt. Larry Blakeslee fishes the DeLand area on a 22-foot Pathfinder. 386-736-9151 h, 386-717-5652 c; Captlarryntisi@ aol.com BOAT RAMPS: Whitehair Bridge (Ed Stone Park) off SR44 west of DeLand (Shady Oak Restaurant is a good stop for gator and catfish). To the south, Lake Monroe Park is a good put-in, with camping; and to the north, Astor Boat Ramp; also Powells Fish Camp. GOTTA SEE: > Highland Park Fish Camp, classic Old Florida camping, boat rentals, bait and tackle, archives of pictures, mounts and history of the area. > Pancakes griddled at your…

About 10 years ago, a downsizing at my company granted me extended time to become more proficient at my lifelong passion, bass fishing. I poured my work ethic into my hobby, fishing harder, smarter and more often. Bimonthly excursions were replaced with a regimen of 3 to 5 trips per week. I had fished about everywhere in Florida, incuding the renowned waters of the Kissimmee Chain, Stick Marsh and Lake Okeechobee. In my renaissance state of mind, however, I made the call to fish within 30 minutes’ drive time of my eastern Hillsborough County home. This placed me within range of numerous waters in my home county, in addition to lakes Parker, Bonny and Hollingsworth in downtown Lakeland. While none of these fisheries have the notoriety of the big waters,…

In Fishing Mate, the late Capt. Andy McLean always included “Things to Remember,” gems of wisdom applicable to inshore saltwater fishing anywhere. Some of my favorites: Fast boats in shallow water spell poor fishing. Fast-tapered rods are made for casting, not setting a hook. Trolling is a good way to find fishing spots. If fish grew as big in the water as they do out, our seas wouldn’t be able to hold them. Keep those hooks sharp—a hook point bent out will hook more fish than one bent in. Fishing with only one lure is like eating soup with a fork. A red headed lure will outfish a plain one. Take a boy fishing. On dark nights luminescence (fire in the water) spells poor luck for artificials. Take a girl…

Prime Time December is a prime month for offshore fishing in South Florida. Spanish mackerel to eight pounds, king mackerel to 30 pounds, cobias to over 50 pounds, sailfish, dolphin, wahoo and the list goes on. That’s just on the offshore side! You still have plenty to target in Biscayne Bay and Everglades National Park, as well as in the region’s freshwater canals. Spanish mackerel, bluefish, kingfish, pompano and a few other species will be available for surf, pier and jetty fishermen. Probably the easiest way to target these fish is to purchase a ticket at one of the local oceanside fishing piers from Sunny Isles Beach to Deer-field Beach. Grab a few fishing rods and your tackle box; doesn’t get much easier than that, but of course you’re at…

Snook Moving Up, Gags Moving In Snook, redfish and trout are very different fish, but there are traits that all three species share. One is that all three are currently restricted to catch-and-release fishing in SW Florida. Another is that all three eat more fishy prey in the summer, but are now switching more to diet of shrimp as winter comes on. And yet another thing they have in common is that many of them move inland during the winter. Add all this up and you get a game plan for mixed bag success this month: Get some live shrimp and fish the canals in Cape Coral, Punta Gorda or Port Charlotte, or head upriver to fish holes in the Peace, Myakka or Caloosahatchee rivers. As long as the water…

Run for Cover When the winter cold fronts start blowing out of the northwest it’s time to take cover in the saltwater canals that double as cold-weather sanctuaries and feeding zones for seatrout, redfish, black drum and maybe a snook. Anglers find more than refuge from the wind in the major 8- to 10-foot-deep man-made cuts that line the barrier island sections of East Central Florida from Daytona Beach to Sebastian Inlet. If the shorelines don’t feature thick growths of mangrove, they’ll surely offer countless fish-attracting docks, bulkheads and moored boats. What’s more, most canals are silted in with a deep layer of mud, which retains an additional two to three degrees of warmth for holding crustaceans and baitfish. Google Earth is a quick way to locate the canals and…

A Little Bit of Everything December is one of the months that can bring just about anything weather wise. Some years it seems to be rainy, some cold, but most years we tend to see a little of everything. Inshore, the action in the backwaters for trout and redfish can provide lots of rod-bending fun with short runs from the ramp. Offshore, the bottom species are usually hungry and spending time over the deeper natural bottom areas will pay off. If the weather is right, the best bet on the water will be making the runs for tuna and wahoo. On the days when the wind blows hard out of the north or east, the best bet will be hunting. Hunting offers just as much variety as fishing with no…

“Standing on the side of a lake with a pole, in the sun, hoping for the best, was not my thing,” she remembered. “I didn’t like touching slimy things, didn’t want any part of it. I would’ve rather been in dance class.” Elizabeth Haigh left her son Alexander’s fishing instruction to his father, Michael Devine. That’s how she looked at fishing. And then one day, her view changed. Michael passed away. At the time, Elizabeth, of New Port Richey, FL, had been separated from Michael, but grief has a way of moving into spaces. Grief for a lost love. Grief for a grieving son. “I had that moment,” said Elizabeth, “Where, OMG, Alex wasn’t gonna be fishing anymore. That was taken away from him.” Adept at social media—she runs an…

“As the weekend approached so did Dorian. We pulled the plug on our trip, to prep our home.” My husband Chris and I enjoy fishing together. We had planned a four-day trip over Labor Day weekend to one of our favorite places, Mosquito Lagoon. We were so excited. Well, as Labor Day weekend approached, unfortunately so did Hurricane Dorian. As the forecast started to look bad for Florida’s east coast, we sadly pulled the plug on our trip so that we had time to prep our home. On Saturday, as we were visiting with one of our neighbors, in Jupiter, we realized that opening day of snook season was Sunday morning. Chris and I decided that we might as well not ruin the entire fishing weekend, so we planned to…