Crystal River - Saltwater Fishing Report

November 19th, 2008

Tons of Angling Opportunities Available

The up and down temperatures and the unpredictable weather of November can be very challenging for anglers, but for those anglers who show patience and pay attention to detail this time of year can result in some of the best and biggest catches of the year.

As rapid temperature changes occur throughout the state of Florida many fish seek refuge around areas where warmer water is present. Springs, Rivers, Warm Water runoffs, and Discharge canals are just a few places that can hold fish when no other places can. Because these areas normally have a steady water temperature, the fish which congregate in these areas are normally unaffected by the rapid drops in temperature most cold fronts bring to our state this time of year. Redfish, Speckled Trout, Snook, and Shark all of which can be extremely temperature sensitive seek out these warmer water habitats and will spend the entire winter congregated around these areas.

On a few of my recent charters I have been spending more time around the river mouths and creeks and canals around some of our local warm water spillways. Normally when rapid temperature changes occur you have to mix up your bait and retrieves due to the colder water conditions. But because the water temps remain fairly consistent around these warmer water habitats it is still possible to use quick retrieve lures and extremely spunky live baits. In fact I like to castnet live mullet and pinfish and pitch these bigger baits along rocky shorelines and oysters bars targeting Snook and Giant Redfish. And the same goes for Speckled Trout, the bigger and friskier the bait the better the trout bite will be.

On a recent charter we have been targeting some larger Reds, Trout and Sheephead all of which have been congregating on deep sides of oysterbars at the mouths of the Crystal River. With the extreme low tides sight casting to the Reds, Trout and Sheephead along these bars has been a sure bet for most of my anglers. Sheephead up to 7 lbs have been taken using blue crab and shrimp. But for the big Reds and Trout my clients and I have been throwing Berkley Gulp Shrimp and Jerkbaits to these shallow water feeders. The jerkbaits definitely have proven to be a big fish catcher but for covering the most ground I love throwing the Gulp! Shrimp with a ¼ ounce jighead. I recently put a father and son duo to work throwing these larger lures and baits and they were rewarded with a nice limit of Reds to 26” and to cap the day off both of them landed Reds around 10lbs. Of course these fish were oversized and released to fight another day but a client experiences sight cast fishing for the first time, they are sold for the rest of their lives.

So if long drag screaming runs and unforgettable fights is what your craving please call or email Red Hot Fishing Charters today, “We are in the Fishing Memories Business.”