Pine Island Sound, FL
December 7th, 2023
Winter is approaching and that means the Sheepshead are coming in to our inshore waters. These big, powerful and very delicious fish become our focus in the cold months. The best way to ensure catching a lot of these fish is to use live crabs or shrimp with an extra sharp hook, I prefer 3/8 ounce jig heads. It’s important to remember these fish have a mouth full of teeth much like human teeth, that line the entirety of their mouth to crush up their favorite food, crustaceans and sometimes getting a good hook set can frustrate even the best angler. Aside from sheepshead we are still catching plenty of redfish, trout, mangrove snapper and snook. These coming months will bring lower water temps meaning fewer food options for these predators, greenbacks will be on the move to warmer waters soon and we will be fishing exclusively with shrimp, pinfish and cut bait. These fish remain very active through winter and the fishing will stay strong despite conditions us generational Floridians don’t care for, but the active fishing keeps us warm until we get warmer days. The nearshore fishing is getting great as well, tons of smaller grouper but the big target species we look to catch is Lane Snapper and Mangrove Snapper, tasty and plentiful ensuring you have plenty for supper.
1 Snook
1 Grey Snapper
2 Sea Trout
1 Redfish
1 Sheepshead
1 Lane Snapper
1 Tarpon
1 Triple Tail
