Venice Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico
Capt. Dave Pinkham
December 2, 2006
Venice - Saltwater Fishing Report
December Offshore Fishing Forecast
Fishing out on the Gulf of Mexico is generally first-rate all year round, and the month of December is no exception. In fact, if weather conditions remain moderate, December can stand out with a mixed bag of excellent fishing opportunities.
As the Gulf’s water temperature continues to cool down gag grouper should be showing up in greater numbers west of the coastline. Other migratory species such as the king and Spanish mackerels should still be hitting just west of the beaches, and on the sunny days there is a good chance watchful anglers may cross paths with pods of cobia which will be swimming at or near the surface warming themselves in the mid-day sun.
It’s a normal cycle during this time of the year as the cold fronts move down over Florida that the winds and seas will be on the increase. The best times to fish out on the Gulf will often be ahead of the approaching cold front or a couple of days after the front has passed allowing enough time for the seas to diminish.
Following is a fishing forecast of what species of fish anglers fishing out on the Gulf can expect to catch in the month of December.
- King and Spanish mackerel should still be around especially if the weather remains mild. There’s been a decent supply of white baits around so hopefully having a food source around should hold these fast moving mid-water species through the month.
- Cobia will be migrating south down the coast this month. On clear sunny days in-between cold colds will be the best time to target them. Look for slow moving fish warming themselves at or near the surface. Cobias are curious fish and tend to hang around any sort of flotsam at the surface or down around any sort of bottom structure. The stone crab trap marker buoys are a great place to look for cobias. Also be on the lookout for tripletail fish around these buoys as well.
- Gag grouper should start showing up on some of the hard bottoms, ledges, and artificial reefs in closer to the coastline. Usually around this time of the year the gags move into “short bottom”. What this means to local anglers is that gag grouper in the keeper size range should be showing up in 40-foot to 70-foot of water. Trolling with large lipped, deep diving lures is a great way to locate these annual winter visitors. Another method to catch gag grouper is to anchor the boat just up wind from the bottom structure and drop baits such as live pinfish and cut sardines down to the bottom.
- Mangrove snapper fishing is always a staple on the Gulf Coast and early winter is when the action really can peak out. The same areas that hold the gag grouper will also draw in the schools of mangrove snapper. Gearing down to lighter tackle is often the key to hooking up with snapper. Once again, anchoring the boat just up wind from the bottom structure and feeding your bait down to them should prove productive.
- Greater amberjacks should start making a solid showing sometime before Christmas. Generally after we get a couple hard cold fronts to shake up the Gulf the big amber jack start showing up in decent numbers. Most of the action with the larger “keeper size” fish will be found farther offshore in the 100-foot to 150-foot range. This equates to 30 to 50 miles offshore of local beaches. Live bait usually will catch the most fish.
- Blackfin tuna may be a viable option on some of the deeper wrecks. If we have mild December, then I would expect to see some blackfins at the filet table throughout the month.
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