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Weather is cool and the fishing is hot
Mark Clabaugh
Welcome to paradise. I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I know that I did; I had my first anniversary and my wife bought me a 40-inch high definition TV with HD Cable! Is that awesome or what? That’s every man's dream.
Man, this December we experienced some really cool days which is really good for the flounder and redfish. I am hearing that if you can get there by boat, the shores off Ft. Pickens are loaded up.
Aboard the pier there have been some really nice bull redfish catches at the end. They are taking cut baits such as mullet and menhaden fished on the bottom. As I have written before, the best rig for redfish fishing on the pier is to have a heavy pyramid weight tied to a loop about 18 to 24 inches above a long shank larger hook.
If you are into pompano, there have been some nice catches throughout December when the surf was down. There have been two methods working for folks with a good deal of success. The first, fishing the bottom with either live or frozen shrimp. The second is sight fishing for them. Sight fishing is where you spy the waters for your fish, cast beyond the fish and jig your bait back toward you and past the fish. This type of fishing is better on the calm days.
 | | Mark Clabaugh/ Splash! magazine Leo Dodd with pompano caught on the Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier. |
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Rounding out our December catch on the pier have been sheepshead (drum) and flounder. Sheepshead are being caught along the pilings. They are eating barnacles and small marine life living on the pilings. Fishermen and women are using small rigs with shrimp and fiddler crabs to catch them. Flounder are being caught in the early morning and mostly with small jigs with a taste of shrimp on them. Anglers are casting along the pier and slowly bumping the bait along the bottom.
Offshore the fishing has been great when you can get out. As most locals know, you have to be ready to go fishing between the weather fronts that pass through our area. The fronts generally bring with them strong southeast winds before and northerly winds afterward kicking up the seas. But, when you do get out the fishing is good.
First of all: yes, snapper season is still closed until the middle of April. However, captains are reporting plenty of grouper, amberjack and triggerfish being caught as well as some really nice Mingo Snapper which is not affected by the season. Grouper are taking any live baits that you can get on a circle hook on a leader fished below a 6 or 8oz slip lead. The technique for this rig is to let the bait go to the bottom, reel up a few laps then holding your reel feel for the pull or the bit. DO NOT jerk your rod. Allow the fish to take the bait by lowering the rod along with is bite. Once you feel you have him, start reeling but again, do not jerk your line when fishing with a circle hook.
Triggerfish are being caught on squid and two hook rigs. Be sure to have small hooks for your rigs. The rig is a simple one and all you have to do for the easiest of them is to tie a loop at the end of your line, come up a few inches and tie another loop which should extend out 9-12 inches, then come up some more and tie another. Now, if you have ever been diving in the Gulf of Mexico you will know that triggerfish swim generally just above or high onto the wreck. So, when you let your line out go all the way to the bottom, reel up 10 - 12 times. Also, it is good to ask the captain if the wreck is high or where he/she thinks the trigger are.
The fish are out there, so let’s go fishing!
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