Nov - Dec 2014: End of another year of great fishing

With 2014 coming to a close, and another memorable year of Crystal River and Homosassa Fishing in the books, I look forward to what lies ahead in the new year.  This year the fishing was great, and I enjoyed days on the water with many old and new fishing friends.  I'd like to extend my appreciation to all.

Fishing in Nov and Dec was fantastic!  On the outside; sheepshead, flounder, black drum and grouper kept the drags screaming.  The shallow rocks in 8-14 feet of water held plenty of rod bending action.  Live shrimp, as always was the most productive bait.  Either a knocker rig or a jig head  with the shrimp was all we needed to entice the fish hiding in and around the rock piles.

Inside, the speckled trout action picked up with fish on the flats on the warm days and in the holes on the colder days.

On the flats the popping cork rig with a 1/16 oz jig and 5" white Zoom bait worked slowly seemed to work the best.  The Glow jerk bait worked well on the yellow bottom and in the holes around the creek mouths.  Again, a slow presentation was the key.

Red fish also moved with the changing water temps.  They stayed outside on the warm days were found  up in the creeks and back country on the cold mornings.

Up in the river the snapper bite was on fire.  Keeper size fish were plentiful, however you had to get past the small ones to get hold of the big ones.  Fresh shrimp was again the key to catching.  Stay away from the frozen shrimp, as they get soft and are easily stolen off the hook.  You may find yourself doing a little "wish fishin".

 

Speckled Trout

Bill shows off a big bull red fish before releasing it back into the gulf.