By Jimmy Tomazinis
mail@floridanewsline.com
Happy holidays to you and yours. December seems to roll around sooner than it used to. While it signals the peak of the frantic holiday season, I hope we all can find some time to retreat to our local waters to relax and spend time with friends and family. Some of my favorite fishing memories have taken place around the holidays. The fishing may not have been the greatest, but the company was.
Shrimp should still be around, but you will probably have to work for them. Just remember that each one can equate to a quality fish. There’s a lot less bait stealers around this time of year, so you shouldn’t lose too many baits.
Stripers, redfish, and catfish will be happy to have any shrimp you put out. Yes, I said catfish — but I think they are greatly unappreciated in the river. They are one of the most consistent fish we have. Two of the most common are white catfish and channel catfish. White catfish are a smaller species maxing around three to five pounds. Channel catfish are larger and can be very athletic reaching weights of more than 20 lbs. I’ve had multiple channel cats convince me they were redfish before I laid eyes on them. I’ve even seen them jump out of the water when hooked. On some of the toughest of fishing days my brother and I would say, “Catfish better than no fish.” I still stand by that.
Now it’s not a sure thing, but if you can find them you will have some of the most fun you can have in the river this time of year — the schooling largemouth bass. I find a lot of them around creek mouths, but they can also be on a particular dock or shoreline. Just think of where you’ve caught bass before and keep checking until you find them. They’ll be mixed sizes from 12 inches to six pounds, so you never know what you’re going to get. A rubber worm or my favorite — a live shrimp — will entice most. The best part about the shrimp is that it comes to the surface trying to evade the bass, so you get to watch a top water show unfold as the bass tries to chase down the shrimp. The kind of stuff you live for as an angler. Like I said, not a sure thing, but worth the effort if you find them. Tight lines.
