December is the month where autumn gives way to winter in central Florida. With the arrival of a series of cold fronts we are compelled to shift fishing locations and tactics in order to be successful. Sometimes it is as simple as shifting from the shallow shoreline to the three to four foot grass flats and potholes fifty yards away. Other times we are forced to flee into the canals and creeks to avoid the strong winds accompanying the fronts. This month is not as hot fishing-wise as others but it still produces solid results as the following reports will reveal.
Recently 80 year old Reuben Johnson from Tennessee and his son Greg from Ohio fished two days with Capt. Roland in the Sebastian Inlet area. On the first day the duo caught 15 trout, bunches of jacks and ladyfish in beautiful weather. The weather turned on the second with 20 mph northerly winds. Shifting location to a protected area near in the Inlet and the Johnsons managed to get some small fish for most of the day. However, right before they had to leave for their plane ride home the water had warmed and the tide changed and two nice reds, one flounder and a nice black drum were boated. Pictured below is Greg Johnson with one their trout.
Capt. Roland was also the Native Sons guide for Don Jones and Henry King from Colorado. On the first day of their two day charter they fished in Titusville chasing reds on the flats in cool windy conditions. Since this was their first trip to Florida they really didn’t know what to expect but the reds didn’t let them down. Henry hooked up early with numerous slot fish, but Don stole the show late with this 30 lb. monster. The second day started with winds 15-25 mph so they headed south to fish some protected canals and islands. Although the fish were not as large as day one there were numerous fish hooked including and landed snook, trout, redfish, ladyfish, and bluefish all on artificials. Pictured below is Don with his monster from day one.
Another charter guided by Capt. Roland in late November was a half-day trip involving Steve Steinhatch from Kansas. Again the winds didn’t allow the party to venture far from the mangrove canals near Sebastian Inlet. However, it didn’t stop Steve from catching fish including big sheephead and black drum both which have started to move into the canals for their annual spawn. These fish love to get up into sub-surface structure putting added difficulty to the fights. Steve caught lots of both and also had a giant grouper showed up for a surprise.
In late November, my good friend Craig Konicek and his son-in-law, John Parker, went on a trip to the Sebastian/Grant area. The charter started slow but ended with an incredible bang when the water finally warmed and the tide finally turned. In the last hour, the two from Ocala caught six trout to eight pounds and six bluefish to five pounds. Pictured below are John and me with one of the ‘gator’ trout.
Hoping to get a break from the 10 degree Minnesota weather, Kyle White and his dad Jeff, along with little brother Mitch and buddy Bart chartered two days over the Thanksgiving weekend with Capt. Roland. The weather definitely didn’t disappoint them and neither did the fish. On Friday, under 75 degree sunny conditions, they caught fish after fish in the Sebastian Inlet area including grouper, mango snapper, bluefish, black drum, sheephead, trout, and mutton snapper. However the best was yet to come. On Saturday under warmer but windier conditions, the group moved to the Titusville area to look for redfish. They did not have to wait long before finding them. The quartet landed seven reds from 22 to 40 inches including an exciting double hook-up. Mitch is pictured with the biggest one after which he exclaimed, “This is the biggest fish I’ve ever caught.”
