HAPPY NEW YEAR! I know it’s not the new year, but you won’t hear from us again until 2020. It’s been my pleasure reporting updates, tips and tactics on area fishing. I also have the pleasure of writing with some of the very best fishermen in the Florida Panhandle. Hope everyone enjoys reading as much as we enjoy writing for you!
With that said, here is your fishing report for the last week of 2019.
Quite the topsy turvy week with weather. Lots of rain and wind kept many off area lakes, rivers and Gulf waters this past week. Then, the turnaround. Beautiful skies, pleasant winds and the weather gods gave in to the holidays.
A quick survey found fishing on Lakes Talquin and Jackson very productive for both largemouth bass and crappie (a.k.a. speckled perch). River fishing was also good in the Ochlockonee below the dam as striped bass and largemouth bass were feeding due to the rain and churning waters.
Up and down the gulf overall the offshore bite was irrelevant as rough seas kept anglers from running safely to and from their favorite fishing holes. Inshore however was very productive. Creeks and rivers are full of marine life searching for that magical 62 degree water. It’s magical as fish seem to disappear from grass and sand flats once the water temperatures drop below that.
Heading out from the St Marks lighthouse I witnessed a bank fisherman reeling in a very large fish. Turned out to be a nice upper slot seatrout. Use this as a tip if you’re looking to wet a line this weekend. You don’t have to go far, and I would imagine area bait and tackle shops will be very busy selling live and frozen shrimp. Seems that’s all you need. Well, that and some tackle.
Speaking of tackle, what did everyone get for Fishmas? I mean Christmas? Now’s the time to get those new rods, reels, depth finders and boats out to try. Word on the street is beautiful weather forecast for this weekend! I’ll be out somewhere chasing the dream. Hope to see you all out there too. Just remember to be safe, have fun and ALWAYS wear a life jacket while boating.
Cliff “JR” Mundinger
APALACHEE BAY
Otto Hough (myhometownfishing.com) says “Hopefully there were a bunch of "nice" anglers found by Santa on Christmas Day that are now needing to get on the Big Pond to test out those new rod and reel combos and/or lures. Fortunately, Mother Nature appears to be in a giving mood into early next week. The NWS marine forecast for the next three days is looking pretty decent with light easterly breezes along with a predicted light chop across Apalachee Bay pushed by the east wind. Tidal swings between the morning lows into the mid-to-late afternoon high tides will be significant with almost a four foot water level differential.
Early morning negative lows should have the deep river and creek holes teeming with trout and reds. But, going into the afternoon they'll begin to explore the warming creek and river mud flats. That post new moon water movement coupled with sunny afternoon air temps sneaking into the low 70s should have the trout in an aggressive feeding mode in the warm skinny waters. Water clarity is presently fantastic. With abundant sunshine over this three day stretch, those shiny lures like the gold/orange bellied Redfins and Bomber Long A's will garner much attention worked in the warm skinny waters. Slow twitching a One Knocker, Super Spook or Skitterwalk over those same skinny water mud flats around the mouths will also elicit more than a few quality strikes from hefty trout and upper slot reds that are still fattening up ahead of real winter conditions yet to come. Also, the soft Saltwater Assassin, Z-man and Gulp! five inch jerk shad will turn a few heads down a tad in the water column. Glow/chartreuse colorations in the soft baits are a good choice in the clearer waters.
Outside, the gags are in close. Waters between 15 to 20 feet are holding some really good rock pile gags. During this post new moon period prior to the looming end of the 2019 season at the stroke of midnight December 31st, the bite ought to be good. Dropping a frozen LY or squid down on live bottom should find more than one taker. Though there'll be a moderate chop on the outside waters, slow trolling live bottom rock piles ought to be productive given the amount of water moving during the tidal swings. Rapala CDMag14s and CDMag18s in Firetiger or Green Mackerel have continued to produce well. Get on the gags as many times as possible this coming week as the 2019 grouper season will close for three months at the stroke of midnight December 31st. In the four county area (Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson and Taylor), grouper season won't reopen until April 1, 2020.
Knowing it sounds much like a stuck record to those faithfully reading this weekly fishing column; wear those auto-inflatable PFDs when on the water. With the comfort and quality of most every brand sold these days, there's really no good reason not to wear one of these lifesavers. Having been "nice" this year, Santa was kind enough to leave a couple of auto-inflatables under our tree that will now be worn this weekend. And remember, wherever the boat may go, boat safely and just FISH!”
PANAMA CITY BEACH
Captain Randy Cnota (www.cnotecharters.com) reports “ The recent storms that blew through brought very cold temps and lots of rain. While reds, trout and all sorts of inshore species are biting okay now, the coming warmer days should really get things fired up as we go into the weekend. I’d suggest finding areas of the bay with less freshwater influx than, those fed by sizeable creeks.
Flounder are still spawning in deeper holes near shallow flats, so you don’t have to go offshore for them. A jig with a 4” Gambler Flappin’ Shad bumped along the bottom near the grass edges will get the bites…it sure has been working for me! Nearshore wrecks and reefs are also still holding flounder and will usually be bigger than the ones in the bay. For these ones, use a basic Carolina-rig with the appropriate sized weight and a short (12”) leader. Use a small circle hook with a live bull minnow or even a Berkley Gulp Shrimp. Wherever you go for flounder, be sure to remember one thing…keep your bait on the bottom!
Don’t let the cold temps make you think you have to fish slowly for speckled trout! A fast moving jerk-bait near these same grass edges will be the ticket for triggering strikes from very hungry fish. The MirrOlure MirrOdine is hard to beat right now for this technique. I’d have two tied on and play with colors and sizes to get them figured out Whatever you go after in our area, it should be good as we warm up; the favorable tides will just be a bonus! Good fishing and God bless.
ST GEORGE ISLAND
Captain Russ Knapp (850-653-5072) reports “The unsettled weather and large amount of rain has slowed the fishing down in the bay, but look for things to improve as sunny skies and warmer weather is forecast this weekend.
Captain Jeremy Willoughby ( 850 323 0769 ) is finding over-slot Reds in the cut while drifting live bait or fresh shrimp on a flat line.
Look for the Sheepshead bite to pick up in the next few weeks. They love to hang out around most any structure, with the bridges being most obvious. Fiddler crabs and small live shrimp are a favorite dinner for a sheepshead.
Offshore conditions don't look great for this weekend but it is the last few days of Gag Grouper season so if you have a large seaworthy vessel you might give it a go. You need not venture far, just find structure, drop live or frozen bait and hold on!
LAKE JACKSON
Lake Jackson continues to get better with each passing cold front. Grass and lily pads are dying back right on schedule. Little bit of rain helps keep water levels up so if this trend continues we should be good going into 2020.
This past week has had bass much more active later in the day as the sunshine warms the water. Lake temperatures will rise 5 degrees some days. Of course that’s surface temperature. Wait a minute.. Surface temperature? Yes! Don’t be afraid to throw moving baits near or on the surface once it warms. Two of my largest bass ever came from wake baits in the cooler winter months. Some females are full of eggs and this makes them the biggest they’ll be all year.
Past years I’ve found bass bedding in late December. Don’t think that’s gonna happen this year but you never know. With only a few days left in 2019 I wouldn’t bet on it.
This weekend’s forecast is in the mid to upper 70’s. That should get the largemouth bass moving. Focus on areas with a steep drop near a North bank. Male bass should be plentiful and ready to hit almost anything thrown their was. I would try soft plastic worms with paddle like tails. These can be fished in several ways from swimming to dead stick. It’s up to you to figure the rest out as feeding patterns change almost hourly.
As more and more vegetation dies back we’ll soon be throwing rattling crank baits to cover water. There’s a couple spots now but you have to do some searching to find those small areas.
So until next year, be safe, have fun and ALWAYS wear your life jacket while boating.
Cliff “JR” Mundinger (www.fishtallahassee.com) 850-296-4071
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