Florida Fishing Report - November 29

Freshwater Central Florida?Bass fishing on the Kissimme/Toho chain is working its way towards its winter peak, with fish to nine pounds being caught on crankbaits and topwater frogs. The weather has been unseasonably warm for late November and the lack of cold fronts still has the fish up in the shallow grass on the northeast side of Lake Toho and the northwest side of Lake Kissimmee. Live shiners fished around the points and at the mouth of the canals with moving water are producing 20 to 30 bass per trip right now. Look for the big fish to move onto the beds with the full moon in January. Black crappie have been on everyone?s minds lately, as the early season crappie bite has been outstanding on the south end of Lake Kissimmee and in the deeper holes of the canals around Camp Mack. Live Missouri minnows have been the bait of choice. Jigs aren?t working well just yet, but the fish should move into the grass over the next month, which will pick up the jig bite. Lake Okeechobee? Bass fishing remains the best it?s been in the last 20 years on Lake Okeechobee, even with rising water levels. The lake is between 13 and 14 feet, allowing boats to navigate in all the open water areas. There was a good push of bass onto the beds with the last full moon, but the best stuff is still ahead. For now, most of the larger fish are holding on the grassy points in open water, where they?ll remain until they push into the shallows to spawn. Lipless crankbaits, Assassin Hand Pour worm in junebug and creature baits are the way to go, although live shiners will produce fish throughout the day. Harney Pond, Indian Prairie, 2nd and 3rd point and King?s Bar are all producing good numbers of fish on the north end, with the Monkey Box and Tin House Cove seeing fish on the west side. There?s also been a decent frog bite in the grassy areas off Clewiston and in the marsh, with the darker colored Logger Toads and Sweet Beavers the preferred baits. Speck fishing has picked up in the Kissimmee River the last few days and the cooler weather this week should really spark a good bite. The best stuff has been at night using minnows in 12 feet of water, although Nubbin Slough does have a good showing of fish in 6 feet of water during the daytime. Live Missouri minnows are the preferred baits. Saltwater Florida Panhandle Inshore?Seatrout, redfish and flounder are the main targets in the bayous of Panama City, with soft plastics in dark colors worked slowly over the bottom the way to produce action. Windy weather has hampered inshore fishing a lot lately, but East Bay and the Power Plant outflow are starting to produce their winter populations of seatrout and redfish. Other good areas include the Escambia River and Blackwater River, as well as Fakahatchee Bay. Offshore?Rough seas have kept the boats in port the last week, so we have no offshore report from this area. West Central Florida Inshore?Trout fishing has been outstanding in 2 to 4 feet of water over broken bottom on the grass flats, with shrimp and popping cork or New Penny colored soft plastics the best baits. The South Side of Big Pass in Sarasota Bay is producing a mixture of bluefish, pompano and sheepshead, with lots of ladfish mixed in. There?s also been a good showing of sheepshead at the Annamaria Pier, with fiddler crabs or shrimp the best baits. Offshore?Grouper action has been steady in 40 to 80 feet of water trolling swimming plugs over the limestone or hard rock edges. Kingfish and bonito can be found within a few miles of the beach off New Port Richie, with live pilchards the top baits. Southwest Florida Inshore?The rivers and river mouths of the Everglades backcountry are producing good numbers of redfish and seatrout for anglers bouncing the bottom with a shrimp and jig or soft plastics. Farther upriver anglers are finding some snook along with juvenile tarpon up to 35 pounds. Skitterwalks and X-Raps have been the preferred lures, while live mullet has been the top bait. Offshore?Mangrove snapper and grouper are the mainstays for offshore anglers, although you can?t keep the grouper right now. Bottom fishing on the patch reefs and hard bottom in anywhere from three to eight miles offshore has been very steady. Live pinfish and pilchards are the top baits, although shrimp can be used when targeting mangrove snapper. Florida Keys Inshore?A mixed bag of Spanish mackerel, bluefish, seatrout, jacks and ladyfish are greeting anglers fishing in Florida Bay and the outside edge of Everglades National Park. Redfish action in Flamingo has been limited to the deep holes in the creeks and around some of the islands, with a shrimp and jig combination producing up to 20 fish per days right now. Most of the reds are under five pounds. Mangrove snapper action on the patch reefs has been outstanding for those fishing live shrimp or small pinfish with a 3/8 ounce jig. Sharks are starting to move onto the flats, with live ladyfish or butterflied Spanish mackerel pulling in blacktip, bull and lemon sharks. Offshore?The late season dolphin bite has been very consistent throughout the Florida Keys, with most of the fish being caught under 20-pounds, although there seem to be schoolies everywhere, although the most consistent action has been in 300 to 500 feet of water. Sailfish action has been very inconsistent, with most boats only getting one or two shots at the fish each day, and a lot of those opportunities are coming out of shallow water over the reef. Blackfin tuna are starting to show off Key West, but the main concentrations have not made their appearance, although this week?s cold front should push some fish into the area. The best action has been around the Sub Wreck in 220 to 240 feet of water southwest of Key West. There?s also been a pretty decent wahoo bite in the same area, with live threadfins the top baits. Southeast Florida Inshore?Pompano are a big target for inshore anglers and surf fishermen from Vero Beach south to the Double Roads in Jupiter. Live or frozen sandfleas, clams or jigs have been the preferred offerings. Spotted seatrout are closed to harvest in the South Region until January 1, but the grass flats of the Indian River around Bear Point, Middle Cove and Bird Island are yielding good catch-and-release action for trout to about seven pounds. Soft plastics like the Bass Assassin 4 inch sea shad in Copper Juice or Space Guppy colors are fooling the larger fish along with lots of bluefish and the occasional snook. The best inshore action right now is taking place at night around the lighted bridges of Miami where tarpon in the 25 to 70 pound class are feeding on shrimp and finger mullet moving through the shadow lines with the outgoing tides. The Venetian Causeway and Government Cut are two of the better locations holding tarpon right now. Offshore?Spanish mackerel and bluefish have pushed onto the beaches in big numbers, with the best action off Peck Lake in Martin County, although there are good concentrations of fish off the condos north of Palm Beach Inlet and also north of the St. Lucie Power Plant. Dolphin action has been steady the last two weeks, with a  lot of schoolie fish under 15 pounds being caught in anywhere from 70- to 180-feet of water along floating weeds and debris. There are well-defined color changes and temperature breaks, with sailfish working one side of the edge.  There?s been a nice push of sailfish into Broward and Dade Counties the last couple of weeks, with fish being caught from the Martini Glass south to Fowey Light. Live goggle-eyes or pilchards are the preferred baits, but threadfins will work in a pinch. On the nights when the wind has been down the swordfishing from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale has been outstanding for fish in the 40- to 110-pound class, with most boats getting multiple shots using squid or mackerel for bait. The action has centered around 1,700 to 2,000 feet of water. East Central Florida Inshore?Redfish action is scattered along the shorelines of the Indian River from Melbourne South towards Sebastian. There?s also a good concentration of reds of all sizes in the Banana River right now, with the shorelines outside the Haulover Canal holding a lot of slot fish. Live shrimp or cut pinfish, mullet or ladyfish are the way to get the big reds to eat right now. The larger fish have been very spooky lately, so make a cast well ahead of the school and let the fish approach your bait. With temperatures cooling a bit, black drum are starting to move up into the shallows, with schools of fish in the 10 to 30 pound class working the causeway shorelines south of Titusville. Live shrimp, crabs or hermit crabs are all good baits. Trout action has been steady for anglers fishing Trigger X shrimp on a 1/8-ounce jighead around the residential canals. Look for flounder action to pick up at Sebastian Inlet over the next few weeks, with live finger mullet or killiefish the popular baits. Offshore?Rough seas have kept a lot of anglers off the ocean lately, with the exception of the big boats chasing sailfish. There?s a good pod of fish off Brevard County waters right now, with most of the sails in anywhere from 90 to 160 feet of water. Trolled ballyhoo with mullet dredge teasers are the way to raise multiple sailfish. Be sure to drop bait your bait any time you hook a fish to encourage a bite from any other fish that might have been traveling with the fish you hooked. We?re starting to see the winter kingfish migration along the beaches and within three miles of shore, with the best action from Cocoa south to Sebastian Inlet. Right now, the larger fish are to the north, but cooler temperatures should push them through over the next month or so. Live blue runners and rigged ribbonfish will be the top baits for kings. Northeast Florida Inshore?Strong flood tides have the redfish moving into the shallows and creeks throughout the region right now. Spotted seatrout are eating topwater plugs in the sound on the warmer days and soft plastics on the cooler days. Look for the trout in the creek mouths and the reds farther up the creeks around the deeper holes, particularly on the falling tides. There are still some big reds around the inlets, with cut bait the best offering. Sheepshead action has really picked up around Fernandina, the Mayport Rocks and St. Augustine Inlet with live shrimp or fiddler crabs the baits of choice. Flounder action is starting to taper off, but there are still some nice fish being caught around the fenders at the Mayport Ferry and also on the outside of the port. Live mullet on a 2/0 Kahle hook has been the way to go. Offshore? Cobia and grouper are the mainstays offshore on the Artificial Reefs and natural wrecks in anywhere from 60 to 140 feet of water. Live bait and squid are the preferred natural baits, but a lot of fish are being caught on Williamson Speed Jigs and Shimano Butterfly Jigs. Have a lure or bait ready to throw at cobia when you pull up to the wrecks, because a lot of the cobia are being encountered upon arrival and once they go down are never seen again.