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Fishing Report for the Florida Panhandle
Capt. Alex Crawford
November 28, 2003
Carrabelle - Saltwater Fishing Report
Groupers are shallow now. As I sit here at my word machine and start gushing prose, I hear the siren call of the groupers no more than 7 miles out in the Gulf. Since the water is now in the lower seventies offshore, the hungry groupers are moving in close and are just begging to be fed. They must know it is Thanksgiving and a time to gorge on food.
Only problem for the addicted offshore angler is the fickle winds of winter. One must pick and choose the best fishing days in between the perpetual low pressure fronts of winter. No problem, we all need to reduce stress by adding some flexibility and a more free-spirited mentality to the game. So, just pick the right opportunity window and go for it.
This past Saturday we climbed through one of those windows. My charter targeted groupers and they were rewarded for their patience and flexible schedules. We ran offshore only 11 miles in 2 foot seas to a coral reef where the groupers live. On the way we stopped to castnet some finger mullet and to sabiki up some pinfish. The back up baits were a box of pogies, cigar minnows and squid.
After dropping our hook, the bite was immediate, but only short fish at first. We had a few throwback red snappers on the mullet. Later, the current picked up and I swam down and commanded the groupers to eat. The live pins did the trick, as my customers pumped up gags around 8 pounds. They dropped frozen pogies down and hooked up a few red groupers that were barely legal, but good eats.
When the current really started to rip the bite changed, as we moved up and down the anchor line in search of new fish. We found a couple chunky mangrove snappers and a pile of black seabass on squid. Winter is a special fishing time for me, because I love to eat black seabass. Later this winter the seabass will spawn and the larger specimens will be on the bite big time. I know it is tiresome to talk incessantly about the fabulous dinner parties, but it is the natural extention of celebrating the total angling experience. Besides, seabass are just plain delectable.
The inshore action is still great, in spite of falling temperatures. One of the best parts of fishing this time of year is that you have the entire pond all to yourself with deer season open now. There are no anglers parked on your favorite spots and one can actually castnet bait without fear of falling overboard due to big wakes from inconsiderate boat captains.
Huge schools of sand trout are available now. Reds have not moved up the rivers and roam the shell bars and mudflats in search of an easy meal. Small winter flounders are here for the patient angler. And my favorite and most dependable winter target, the hard-fighting, good-tasting convict fish will pull on your string. Sheepshead fishing will only improve throughout the late winter spawn.
The sure cure for a chronic case of the winter blahs is water. It is always about the water. We are all drawn to it, as if some magical trance lures us to it. Herbert Hoover said it best, “to go fishing is the chance to wash one’s soul with pure air, with the shimmer of the sun on blue water.” Here’s wishing all fair winds and following seas.
Till next tide, tight lines and solid hookups,
Captain Alex Crawford
Proud Member Florida Outdoor Writers Association
Proud Member Florida Guides Association
www.topknots.com
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