November Backwater Fishing Winding Down with a Mixed Bag
Capt. Todd Geroy
November 28, 2012
Naples - Saltwater Fishing Report
I have had a very busy month and fished double half days every day for the last week. As is the norm for November, the fishing has been in a definite transition.
Cool weather settled in on Thanksgiving week bringing low temperatures to a chilly 50 degrees or so. Water temperatures dropped from the low 70's to as low as 63 degree in he backwaters.
With that we has a whole new cast of characters available to target in the area waters. These include the return of pompano, sea trout, black drum and bluefish.
I have been fishing inland channels with jigs and finding pompano cooperating along with trout and a few bluefish. The best spots are narrow channels that run through shallow flats. Moving water is key to success and it doesn't seem to matter whether the tide is rising or falling. My favorite rig is a 3/8 ounce jig head rigged with nothing more than a short piece of surgical tubing. I often tip it with a small piece of shrimp. Casting the jig across current and retrieve across the bottom with short lively hops of the rod tip letting the lure settle between hops. Here is a photo of the rig...
We are finding a few nice redfish for those willing to work for them. They are scattered through the back bays and most of the fish are singles. We are taking them on live shrimp as well as pichards. Most of the fish have been nice ones in the 23 to 25 inch range. My son Capt. Ben Geroy shows a nice red taken on a jig on a chilly November morning...
I had Barritt Gilbert and son William out on the 23rd. The two boated several nice pompano and moved on to work the bushes and manage some nice redfish. William with the result of a good cast under the cover of the mangroves...
There are still some nice snook to be caught and released although they aren't nearly as active as they were a couple of weeks ago due to cooler water. Yesterday, I fished with Mike Randall and son-in-law Matt. They hooked into a couple large snook with Mike boating this 13 lb. fish. We were using live sardines. Mikes snook before release...
- Capt. Todd Geroy
Naples Fishing Forecast:
We should continue through the next few weeks with more and more pompano moving in from the gulf. Sea trout should be in good numbers as well.
Target Species:
pompano, sea trout, redfish, snook
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