Captain’s Corner for November29 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

The recent cold fronts with their high winds created unsafe boating conditions and have kept us in port waiting for improved conditions and wondering what effect the dramatic drop in water temperatures will have on fishing. Because water temperatures now are ranging between 60 and 70 degrees all along our coast it will be safe to assume that most of the migratory fish like barracuda, Spanish mackerel and kingfish will have left the area along with the baitfish they feed on for the warmer waters in the Keys and Cuba.
That leaves us with bottom fishing until the return of the migratory fish in late March.
Mangrove snapper and gag grouper will be holding tight to higher profile structure such as artificial reefs, large ledges and wrecks where they traditionally seek some shelter from the surge caused by the cold front high seas. Gag grouper season closes at 12:01 AM on December 3 and will become a catch photo and release species until July 1. Red grouper and white grunts will be found on their usual hard bottom areas and will be feeding heavily betweens fronts. Red grouper are closed in Federal waters, but remain open to recreational anglers only in state waters (inside 9 miles). Water will be murky from the stirred up sediment and frozen sardines and squid along with cut bait should produce better than live bait.