Fishing in November requires a bit of knowledge of the Pacific Ocean temperatures. Sounds crazy but the weather forecast at present is for a La Nina pattern suggesting a mild dry winter in the south (and cold & wet to our north). Any way you want to look at it, November will have plenty of wind and cold fronts to deal with but warmer waters basically mean we have an extended October. This past October we lost nearly half the month to high winds but the fishing was nothing short of remarkable. Here’s the forecast for my 4 favorite species if we have a moderately warm November:
Kingfish: Often kingfish will show up in the stretch between Cape Haze Point and Boca Grande Pass. Big ones up to 40 pounds are possible. They will certainly be within sight of the beaches during November which is way more predictable. Trolling or drifting live baits to cover lots of ground is the way to go.
Tarpon: Sounds crazy but tarpon will hang around if the water temperatures are in their comfort range and bait is plentiful. If the weather turns really cold the bait fish will leave with the tarpon right behind them. Finding the right bait to feed them can be tricky. Live ladyfish fished whole are a good bet, sometimes large pinfish are even better. If threadfin herring are lingering it is time to get the sabiki rig out!
Redfish: Schools of large reds will wander around the harbor and beach areas. Fish to 15 pounds are pretty common. Tough to find them as we will enter lower tidal phases and coupled with northeast winds the flats are dry and void of fish. More predictable are redfish to 6 pounds once the tide gets near its peak on an incoming tide. This is the month where I normally switch to whole live shrimp for redfish. If pinfish are on the flats then they will peck away at your live shrimp and you will be better off fishing with live or a half of pinfish on the bottom.
Snook: The cooler the water gets so goes the snook bite. Cooler temperatures slow their metabolism. Look for warm back water areas that have at least 3 feet of depth. If live sardines (white bait) are available then they are hard to beat. If the bait leaves the harbor then snook become reckless on lures later in the day after the sun has heated the shallows.
Capt. Chuck Eichner operates Action Flats Backcountry Charters and can be reached at 941-628-8040
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