By Jimmy Tomazinis
mail@floridanewsline.com
The river and area creeks may still be recovering from the one – two punch they received from Ian and Nicole recently. Ian surprisingly left a decent amount of shrimp to still be found in the river, but water levels remain high and fish can remain highly dispersed because of it. Nicole added to that and I’m remaining hopeful that the valuable eelgrass in our area doesn’t get knocked back like it did following Irma. It had finally started showing some recovery this year.
As I mentioned in last month’s report, this time of year if you’re still going to fish a good bit locally, you’ll have to transition towards targeting the fish that still maintain a consistent appetite through the colder months. Lots of those fish in our area happen to be the freshwater species: speckled perch, bass, bream, and catfish to name a few. Stripers can be thrown in that group as well, but they could head for saltier waters if they wanted to. Because of this you’ll want to transition to fishing area creeks more. Not that the main river doesn’t hold plenty of these species, but it can be difficult to fish with the fickle weather we get (the winds being the biggest aggravation).
I focus most of my attention towards the speckled perch or specks which requires a downsizing of tackle. Small spinning reels spooled with 4 – 8 lb. line matched with light action rods will make the most fun of the smaller fish. You can use live minnows or a variety of small artificials to catch them. Anything chartreuse seems to work well. Trolling can be an effective way to locate fish in new areas and they tend to congregate around structures such as trees and docks.
So to summarize, look for the freshwater residents of the river to step up this month and target them in the local creeks, but if we get a calm day don’t miss trying the main river for them. If you’re dedicated to the summer pattern you’ll probably still find a few shrimp. Even if it’s only one a cast it may be worth it for bait, since the likelihood of those shrimp turning into quality fish is a lot higher this month. Tight lines and happy holidays.
