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 Southwest Florida Inshore Fishing Forecast for December

    Even though it may be warm a good amount of time, we will be in a wintertime fishing pattern during December.  The days will be shorter and fronts will be more frequent.  This will mean cooler water temperatures.  When a front is approaching, fish will feed more as the barometer falls.  After the front passes, fishing will be tougher due to high pressure.  Usually we have a north wind following a front, which means cooler air.  Many species of fish are very sensitive to changes in water temperatures and barometric pressure.

    Trout season will remain closed during December and snook season will close on December 15.   Fortunately, there should be some seasonal species of fish around to take the pressure usually placed on these two species.

    Snook will be found in rivers, creeks and canals during December.  On warm days they may be found on the flats, particularly over dark bottom.  There is a resident population of snook that is always in the ICW around docks and bridges.  DOA shrimp and TerrorEyz, Cotee jigs and a variety of MirrOlures are some of my favorite lures for snook in these areas.  At night, around lighted docks and bridges, snook will feed on shrimp and baitfish, particularly glass minnows.  Live shrimp and pinfish will be two of the top live bait choices.  DOA's and Cotee jigs with pearl shad tails are among my best producing snook lures at night.

    Fly fishing for snook at night is excellent during cooler weather, since they feed heavily on glass minnows at this time.  Small white flies, such as Grassett's Grass Minnow, String Beans and glass minnow patterns fished on an intermediate or sink tip fly line will work very well.

    Snook season will close on December 15, so any snook caught after that must be released.  Please handle any snook gently caught during the closed season.  If there were a hard freeze, I would refrain from targeting snook since they will be stressed at that time.

    Reds will be found on the flats during December, particularly in the afternoon after the water has warmed on the flats.  I prefer to fish an incoming tide for reds, starting at the bottom of the tide.  Reds may tail on shallow grass flats and around sand and oyster bars on very low tides.  Even though they are feeding, they may be difficult to catch due to the very shallow water they are in. Weedless rigged soft plastic jerk baits, such as Slimy Slugs or DOA shrimp will work for tailing reds in very shallow water.  The key to catching them is to cast when the fish is tailing and move the lure when the tail is down.  The same goes for fly fishing.  You will need to use a fly that suspends or is weedless, making your presentation when the fish is tailing and moving the fly when the fish's tail is down.

    Another reliable technique is to weedless rig a live shrimp.  Break off the tail, insert the point of the hook in the end of the tail and turn it  around and bury it in the body of the shrimp. Then you pinch a split shot on the leader right at the top of the hook.  You can then cast this rig past a tailing redfish, reel it across the surface until it reaches the fish and then let it drop.  Let the redfish "sniff it out" and then it will eat the shrimp off the bottom.  Wait until you feel the fish pull against the rod before setting the hook.  This technique is also used when spin fishing for bonefish with live shrimp.

    Trout season will remain closed during December. Trout are very fragile and will not survive being deeply hooked.  It is inevitable that you will catch trout during the closed season when fishing deep grass flats or potholes in shallow flats.  To minimize injuring them, I would recommend that you use lures and bend the barbs of your hooks down.  If you use live bait, circle hooks will reduce mortality on trout by avoiding hooking them deeply.  Also, it is important to handle trout with a wet hand or better yet, use a "J" hook release tool to release them without touching them at all.  Handling a trout with a dry hand or dry towel is a death sentence for them.

    Cormorants may also be a problem, since they will eat trout when they are released.  This becomes more of a problem during colder weather, since it is more difficult for cormorants to find food.  If they gang up around your boat, I usually move to avoid them being eaten by the cormorants.

    Pompano and bluefish may be found in the passes, on deep grass flats or around sand bars. In the passes you will need to use a heavy jig.  I use a 3/8 ounce ball-type pompano jig or a DOA TerrorEyz. In shallower areas, you can use a lighter jig, such as a 1/8 or ¼ ounce Cotee jig or a DOA TerrorEyz of the same weight.  These fish can also be taken on a fly.  I use either an intermediate or sink tip fly line with an Ultra Hair Clouser Minnow fly.  My top producing colors are yellow or chartreuse with gold flash.

    Tripletail and cobia may be found in the bay or in the coastal gulf waters.  Look for tripletail and cobia around crab trap floats or floating debris.  Cobia may also be found over structure such as artificial reefs or natural hard bottom.  When targeting tripletail, you can use a DOA shrimp or a live shrimp on medium spinning tackle.  With fly tackle, a floating or intermediate fly line with a dark colored Clouser or a shrimp pattern will work.

    Cobia will require heavy spinning or conventional tackle to land the larger fish.  Live bait, such as a pinfish or select shrimp will work very well, as will a DOA shrimp or Baitbuster.  A minimum of a 9-weight fly rod with a large streamer-type fly, such as a Deceiver, will also work for cobia.  For large cobia, a fly rod as large as a 12-weight is not too big.

    Depending on the weather, you may also encounter bonito (little tunny) in the coastal gulf waters during December.  You can use a Cotee jig, DOA TerrorEyz or a Crippled Herring Spoon on medium spinning tackle.  For fly anglers, an 8-weight fly rod with an intermediate or fast sinking fly line and an Ultra Hair Clouser fly will work.  A technique that may work when casting to breaking fish is to let your fly or lure sink down through the breaking fish rather than move it fast.  This simulates a crippled baitfish that is sinking to the bottom.

    Don't forget jack crevalle and ladyfish if you are just looking for catch and release action, particularly with a fly rod.  Ladyfish may be large and will school up in passes or on deep grass flats.  Jacks will also school during cooler weather and may be as large as 8 or 10 pounds.  There are not many fish that hit as hard or as willingly as jacks.

    For the best success during December, adjust to changing conditions.  If you know a front is approaching, fish before it gets here if you can.  Fishing will be tougher after the front passes through.

 As always, remember to limit your kill, don't kill your limit!

Tight Lines,

Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
e mail snookfin@aol.com
www.fishfla.net/grassett.htm

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