Week of November 28: Bluefish, redfish, jacks, black drum and others at south jetty
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The forecast calls for cloudy skies, a high of 74 degrees, N winds at 10 mph, and 2 to 3-foot seas. Tuesday will be sunny and the rest of the week will be partly cloudy.
And now for “Snookman” Wayne Landry’s weekly fishing report:
“Good morning, fishing fanatics! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and families. Now we are off into the holiday season, and I, for one, wonder, where did the year go so fast? Time for another fishing report. The inlet, as a whole, was pretty active all last week and over the weekend, but with a little slow down on Sunday. Plentiful baitfish around the jetties, docks and in the surf are keeping things on the active side. Finger mullet and small greenies are the predominate bait around. And the birds have been quite heavy with this activity, so use caution when they are around so as to not hook or tangle one. If you do, capture the bird and safely unhook or untangled it. DO NOT cut the line for any reason.
North side: The north jetty and catwalk remain closed until further notice. Fishing here has been hit-or-miss, with most fish caught on the beach with live finger mullet and artificials. Beware of debris when accessing the beach: access is limited to the northernmost parking lot for your safety. Jack crevalles, bluefish and snook are biting in the surf. Most of the snook have been undersized, but some keepers have been taken. Along the rock wall between the jetty and catwalk has been also producing jacks, blues and some snook on live baits.
South jetty: All the action is occurring here, and it has been crowded as well due to the limited fishing areas on the north side. The incoming tides have been the most productive with snook, bluefish, some redfish, jacks, black drum, pompano, sheepshead and an occasional flounder being caught. Remember the flounder are closed right now and will open on Dec. 1. The snook have been hitting all live baits with pinfish being the bait of choice, but finger mullet and shrimp are producing as well. Spanish mackerel have also been hitting rather good for those tossing small jigs and silver spoons. Pompano and black drum are biting live shrimp and dead shrimp in the surf pocket, and along the inside rocks.
Surf, both sides: When the surf was a bit rough last week, the fishing was fairly good on both sides for those using live finger mullet and swim baits. Snook and jacks were the main bite, with several keeper snook being caught. The jacks were pretty thick with all the bait in the surf, but if you put in some time, a snook or two showed up for good measure! The South side has been producing a few pompano on goofy jigs and cut shrimp in the pocket area. Also, I saw a couple spotted seatrout caught in the surf over here, but the season is closed for this species and doesn't open until Jan. 1. They must be returned to the water unharmed.
T-dock: The fishing back here has decent. Fish the cleaner incoming water. The small greenies have attracted some nice Spanish mackerel, blues and jacks. These fish can be caught on live greenies, small white jigs and small silver spoons. Snook fishing has been hit-or-miss. The water is cooling and the snook aren’t in their comfort zone, but you can catch some if you put in the time and find an area that is holding them. Incoming tide and the very beginning of the outgoing is the best to fish. Live pinfish are the baits they want back here. I also received a report on flounder. One of my friends fishing back here caught two the other day in the two to three-pound range on live finger mullet, but again, they have to be released until Dec 1.
That's it for this week on our favorite fishing hole. Expect pleasant weather this week, so get out and enjoy the Florida outdoors - and NO snow.” - Snookman.