November is the kick off to prime time Winter bottom fishing. In my opinion we really only have 2 seasons here on the Central East Coast. Flip Flop Season and Flip Flops with Socks Season for those of us still stuck in the 80s. As we start to think about wearing socks the Ocean Obsession Crew gets their mind set on going deep. We have added a extra hour to our Wednesday full day trips until grouper close in January to allow us the option to go deeper on days the current isn’t bad.
We will start to see good action on the bottom from groupers, amberjacks and even cobia on the 120 ft to 180 ft bottom. We will also have fantastic stringer fish fishing for vermillion snapper, porgies, trigger fish and lane snapper. One great advantage we have is numbers. No I don’t mean hot fishing spots however we do have those also. The boat is typically not crowded during off season but we do have more baits in the water than small boats and that allows us to weed through red snapper, giving the groupers a shot at the baits. All this bait and commotion gets the groupers and everything else fired up.
Those that put in the time to get big live baits such as pin fish, blue runners, croakers and even grunts will be rewarded with some shots at groupers and amberjacks. When bringing your own equipment be sure to bring the big gear for grouper fishing. At bare minimum you should be using 80 lb test and a 9/0 double strong hook. When grouper fishing big baits we prefer 100 lb test sliding sinker rig with 100 lb fluorocarbon leader attached to a 10/0 double strong hook with locked down drag. I say it’s better to break them off before they break you off. Even though party boat fishing is every man for themselves it is important not to shut off the bite by breaking the fish off. I have seen epic grouper bites shut down by one break off. You will also need the turning power to quickly bring your grouper to the surface because the sandbar sharks will gladly take a free meal.
We will also continue to see black fin tuna and mahi along with cobia swim to the boat on a regular basis so be ready with a pitch rod or if you reserve the back of the boat have a float line working at all times. A 30lb spinning rod capable of holding 250 yards of braid or mono should be sufficient. Your float line rod can also double as your stringer fish and bait rod. Try to jig up a live cigar minnow or sardine for the float line if they are around but a whole dead sardine catches plenty of fish also.
The days when the current is running or we are limited to 100 ft or less by time we can still expect great bottom fishing. As long as we don’t have any large swells from passing hurricanes the main reef will be abundant with mangrove and mutton snapper. The stringer fish, especially the vermilion snapper will be chewing. You can also soak a big live bait and wait because Pelican Flats region is no stranger to very large grey groupers.
The crowds are down and it is a great time of year to party boat fish. Come join us on Wednesdays for our 10 hour trip and see if you have what it takes to turn a Canaveral grouper.
Fantastic report, look forward to getting out with you guys soon!