Bradenton 'Sarasota Area Inshore Fishing ' Captain Jim Savaglio, Inshore Slam Charters.
November ' 'Let's go fishing' turned to 'Let's go hunting' this past month when a group of us gathered to hunt for Pheasants in Kansas. This season would mark our 27th year that the group has been hunting together. During those past 27, opening day has brought us everything from freezing temperatures and snow, to hot and sunny weather in the 80's. This years' opening day was no different and in fact gave us both one day of cold weather and one day of warm weather.
On Saturday morning the outside temperatures was about 25 degrees when we arrived at the first field, and the wind was blowing out of the north at 15-20 mph. The CRP grasses had a good layer of frost on them as we started our long walk into the wind. Everyone in the group was excited to get out and get moving, not only to hunt but to keep warm. The dogs and the hunters in our group began to walk our first half section which we decided to divide into three equal parts to push the birds. It didn't take long before one of the dogs was on point and the first bird was flushed. Just after the flushing of the bird, those hunters nearby take their shots. As 3 or 4 shotguns go off, and the bird tumbles to the ground, each one of the four shooters shouts, 'I got it'. Standing in a distance, down the line of hunters, I think to myself, 'some things never change'. No one wants to be known in the group as the guy who missed and there is a certain amount of male ego at work as well. By mid day the temperature had warmed up and the frost had burned off. Heading to lunch we had nearly 20 birds in our pick-ups. After lunch, we decided to hit a few fields planted in Milo and managed another 10 birds or so.
Day two was a whole lot different, the temperature to start was 45 degrees and there was little or no wind. The warmer temperatures kept the birds from flying and when they did, they were getting up out of range to shoot. On day two, we did manage to bag another 15 birds with most everyone of the shooters getting a chance to get a shot at a bird or two.
All in all not a bad year, since we had a smaller group as seen in the photo. Till next year we said our goodbyes and look forward to hunting together again next season.
Let's turn our attention back to the fishing which has been very good this past month, despite the winds blowing and the clarity of the water being so clear you can see the bottom even in 20 feet of water. Snook and Trout have been the hotter of the bites for us this past month, with grouper and flounder still making a strong showing. We managed to switch baits around from live pilchards to cut bait to shrimp and pinfish.
The bait this past month has still been available and caught on the flats and is also available at the skyway or on the beach if you choose to go outside. Some years the bait will move off the flat and sometimes it will stay in the bay throughout the winter. In the past few years we have always had live bait at the Skyway Bridge but there are some days in the month of December when the bait moved off the main pilings to about 23 feet of water making it difficult to cast net. When the bait is unavailable, I switch my tactics to shrimp or artificial. Let's face it, you typically catch more on live bait, but there are many soft plastics, especially those made by Stanley Jigs that will catch trout, redfish and snook. I will also turn my grouper hunting into a slow troll procedure using large diving plugs along the ships channel edge. Fishing with artificial baits is not only fun, but it is a welcome change from the live bait tactics to using ones skill and ideals to be able to fool a fish into attacking a shiny or plastic bait.
During the month of December head to the deeper waters of the bay and some of the back bays closer to canal homes and rivers which dump into the bay. As the temperature of the water continues to decline, focus on the afternoon bite and dark bottoms, which will help heat up the water temperatures by the end of the day.
If you are looking to have a day on the water, give us a call at 941-238-7597. Till then, tight lines and keep your rod tip up.
Captain Jim Savaglio www.inshoreslam.com