As snook, reds flee, trout inherit flats

December usually means the bait supply is gone and shrimp or artificial lures become the bait of choice. But unseasonably warm weather has made scaled sardines abundant on the flats and schools of threadfin herring have been holding in the passes and just offshore.

Snook action has been decent with plenty of smaller fish and a handful of the big ones that seem to be moving in from the gulf. Dirty or overcast conditions make for a better bite, but a sudden drop in temperature does just the opposite. For the most part you can plan on a great snook bite immediately prior to the passage of a cold front when the winds are from the south and the tide is pushed up higher than normal. Once the frontal boundary passes, the temperature drops and the skies get clear, snook become much more difficult to catch. While you can usually grind it out and pick up a few snook over the course of a cold, clear day, we usually just skip them.

When it comes to cold weather, there are few species that seem to prefer it more than spotted sea trout. Drift fishing with soft-plastic jigs has been one of the top trout techniques for more than 30 years. Shut the boat down upwind of a deep grassy area and start casting. When the weather gets real cold many trout will flee the grass flats and stack up in deep holes where they often mix with silver trout. Work such spots with 3/8-ounce jigs.

Stalking tailing reds in extremely shallow water is a favorite pastime for many skiff guides in this area. Since redfish rarely "tail" any time other than low tide, winter's seemingly never-ending low tides are perfect. Pushpoles are a must and even when they are used properly, many reds will flee long before you get a shot at them.

For some anglers, this is the prime time for "inshore grouper." To some that would mean grouper caught within a few miles of shore, but for others it means hitting the residential canals or channels. Bill Hackney and Greg Freeman of Harts Bait and Tackle in Holiday like to check the bottom features of the local rivers and residential channels and catch gag and goliath grouper. Most of the fish are undersized but sometimes they find a few keeper gags.

Ed Walker charters out of Tarpon Springs. Call 727 944-3474 or e-mail info@lighttacklecharters.com.

Fish The Ditch

What's hot: Areas along the dropoff of the shipping channel and small ledges just offshore are holding large numbers of grouper, especially between the Sunshine Skyway and Port Manatee, artificial reefs in 30 to 40 feet and patches of hard bottom between John's Pass and Clearwater. Divers report hundreds of grouper hanging over some of the reefs, including catches up to 15 pounds on small breaks in 30 feet. Grouper inside the Skyway will move out and stack up over hard bottom when the water drops below 65 degrees.

Pro tips: Troll the shipping channel with large plugs or jigs, mark your spot and fish it with large live pinfish. Some of the best bottom is between the Madeira Beach and Indian Shores reefs. Toss a throw jug off the back of the boat when you get a strike. Drift baits around the jug until you locate the break that's holding the fish. Action should remain hot until the water drops below 60 degrees.

Tackle: Don't use less than 50- to 80-pound test. Large shallow-water grouper are harder to catch then deep-water grouper. Lock the drags and don't stop reeling until the fish clears the break.

Doug Hemmer charters out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 347-1389.

Ample Amberjacks

What's hot: Amberjack fishing in 100-150 feet has been consistent. These bruisers are ranging in size from 15 to 30 pounds in the shallower depths and 40-60 pounds on the deeper wrecks and springs. Bring large baits such as pinfish or blue runners. Anchor over the structure you plan to fish, rather than drift. If you are on a drift and hook up, the school may follow the hooked fish and you will pull all of them off the spot, making them harder to catch.

Tactics: Live chumming will ensure a great bite. Throwing cast nets in the shadow line of most bridges at night will usually result in a livewell full of scaled sardines or threadfin herring.

At your amberjack spot, start by tossing a few dozen of these chummers over the side. If the jacks are there you will know very quickly as these fish will rise in the water column and swarm around the boat.

Tackle: Most prefer the use of large conventional reels such as a 4/0 or a 6/0 loaded with at least 80-pound mono.

--Steve Papen

Warmer Temps are Anglers Gain

What's hot: Indian summer water temperatures have snook, redfish and trout holding in atypical locations for mid December. Grass-flat edges and oyster bars guarding creek mouths are producing trout, redfish and flounder. Snook are sunning on the edges of canals and river mouths. On occasion, large schools of pillaging jack crevalle are trekking through many of these areas without warning.

Find the mullet: Schools of mullet continue to mass along the shoreline. The larger the school and more ruckus the mullet create, the more likely it is that they attract a following of redfish, trout, and other game fish. Winter lower tides are staging the mullet in the troughs of the flats and along the bars. Following the schools of mullet to the shoreline during flood tides will be staple to productivity.

Pro logic: Scaled sardines are still available and worth pursuing for bait and chum. Most areas holding game fish are in clear and shallow water. Work these areas with a soft jerkbait attached to a one-sixteenth of an ounce weighted offset worm hook to locate the quarry. Once the jerkbait has found the fish, drop anchor and live chum the sardines in the area for optimum catches.

--Robert McCue

Kingfish Stick Around

What's hot: Unseasonably mild temperatures and the abundance of bait have helped extend our kingfish run. Some were found at the artificial reefs, with the South County Reef among the most productive. We caught a handful off the Blind Pass drop in 20 feet Saturday before being called out to the Parking Lot, an area of hard bottom in 28-30 feet due west of St. Pete Beach, wherewe witnessed the gaffing of a 35- to 40-pounder thatinhaled a slow-trolled blue runner. Ours chewed full-grown greenbacks. Bill Baker of St. Petersburg and his party landed a 30-plus pounder they untangled from a crab trap.

Bait choices: We've been consistently cast-netting large greenbacks at the structure C bridge along the Bayway before daylight. The Pass-a-Grille sea buoy has been dependable for whitebait, much of which is large enough for the kings. Easterly winds have drawn large schools of greenbacks to the swim buoys along St. Pete Beach. Watch for diving birds or check your bottom recorder.

Tackle: The water is so clear we could see bottom in 30 feet. You can get away with 20-pound test in the early low light. As the sun climbs higher, lighter line and leader material may be more effective.

Jay Mastry charters Jaybird out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 321-2142.

Inshore Tips

Chasing bait

Baitfish have moved into our gulf coast beaches. I have never seen such a strong showing of scaled sardines. These hardy baitfish are usually located in the trough formed by the waves right off the beach. Pelicans, terns and seagulls will also give away the location of these favorite baitfish. I use a 12-foot, quarter-inch mesh cast net so I can fill the baitwell quickly. Farther off the beach you can find the larger bait - threadfin herring. Pelicans and gannets diving from a higher altitude will give you a good indication of where to start looking for them. If you cannot see the bait on the surface, use a bottom machine to locate them in the water column.

Chum 'em up

With the livewell full of baits, anchor in the 20-foot drop, a couple of miles off the beach. I start chumming with live bait cast some free-lined baits into the chum area. Wire leader is a must to keep Spanish mackerel, kingfish and sharks from cutting through the leader. Bonita and an occasional cobia can also be caught. Having plenty of bait to keep the chum slick and feeding frenzy going is key to the success.

Reds on the flats

Redfish are easy to find with the cooler water temperature, but use caution in approaching these fish in shallow water as it is especially clear this time of year on the flats. Redfish are easily spooky if you move too aggressively. I take my time and set the boat up wind of fish so I can make a long cast in front of the school. If the cast is going to land in the middle of the school, I will stop the throw short in midair, then reel in to make another cast. If the tide is high enough, reds will stay in the same area, if it is too low, they will move when a fish is caught. A scaled sardine on a 1/0 circle hook under a weighted cork has produced well this past month. The weighted cork helps in making a longer cast with smaller baits.

Go slow for snook

Believe it or not, there are still schools of snook along the beach and passes. I think they may stay there if the general weather pattern stays unseasonably warm. Because of the clear water, I downsize my leader from 30-pound test to 25 pounds and switch to a smaller hook. Patience is a must. If the fish are there and I do not draw any strikes, I leave and fish for something else, then come back later and try again. At one point during the day, snook will go into a feeding spell. The trick is to be there when they want to eat. Chumming live bait will often turn snook into a frenzy, but if terns show up and start diving on the chum, the snook will turn off.

Grouper in the channel

Grouper fishing inside the Skyway Bridge is starting to turn productive. Trolling plugs or large jigs on a downrigger along the shipping channel is the best place to start. A large planer can be used if you do not have a downrigger. Heavy tackle is needed to get fish off of the bottom once hooked. The shipping channel is rocky and loaded with holes that the fish can get in. Stay clear of any ships going through. If you hear five short blasts of a ship's horn, that is a danger signal and the ship wants you to move out of the way as soon as possible.

Rob Gorta charters out of St. Petersburg. Call him at (727) 647-7606 or visit www.captainrobgorta.com.

Fish Are Offshore Too

Great fishing: Action offshore has been astounding with bounties of pelagic and bottom feeders. We had one of our better fall days right before this last small front. A giant school of bait had settled on a piece of hard bottom about a mile inside the Clearwater 3-mile reef. It turned into a furious ambush of kings. We met our limit with ease.

Big catch: Mackerel of all sizes were attacking our slow-trolled pilchards. Our largest was a 35-pound king. We hooked two big fish at once, both tearing line off in different directions. We followed the fish that took the most line and our reward was a huge king. We never saw the other fish, but know it was huge. The fight ended when the line got tangled in a crab trap rope.

Grouper: The bottom fishing for grouper has been good, with countless days of limiting out. The best part is the short distance we have to travel.

Dave Mistretta captains the Jaws Too out of Indian Rocks Beach. Call 727 595-3276, e-mail jawstoo@msn.com or see jawstoo.com.

Try Artificials During Fronts

Slow it down: Recent high winds and the dropping water temperature will move the fish around for the next few days. Favorite live baits will become harder to obtain and may not be worth the time spent to catch them. This is a great time to start using your favorite artificial lures, giving you time to cover more water and the ability to regulate your presentation. Soft-plastic baits such as jerk shads, shrimp imitations and swim baits will produce strikes from trout, redfish and snook when presented in a more subtle fashion during colder weather. Keep changing your retrieve rate until you get strikes.

Techniques: Light-braided lines in the 10-pound test range with a short piece of fluorocarbon leader in 20- to 30-pound test will work for most applications. Rods and reels properly matched to the line will allow for long casts and much less fatigue for the angler.

Tips: Look for areas that have been protected from high winds and have the cleanest water. Small coves and creek mouths often will hold larger concentrations of fish, so approach these areas quietly and make long casts to avoid detection. Watch your electronics and monitor the water temp. Just a few degrees of warmth in certain areas may well lead you to what you're looking for.

--Troy Sapp

Grouper and Amberjack Abound

What's hot: Fishing for grouper and amberjack is excellent. As we transition from fall to winter conditions, grouper and amberjack will be closer to shore. Amberjack will be as shallow as 70 feet, and grouper will be in 20 feet over small ledges and small pieces of hard bottom. Kingfish and Spanish mackerel are still around and should stay as long as bait schools remain and the water temperature holds in the 60-degree range.

Location: Amberjack are holding over shipwrecks and springs from 70 to 130 feet of water. Live bait have been effective on amberjack. Live bluerunners are the best live bait. A large pinfish or threadfin will produce as well. The amberjack have not been huge, but some are 30 to 40 pounds. Kingfish are holding around the Egmont Channel markers and near shore wrecks. Look for the bait schools to help find fish. Kingfish are opportunistic feeders and do not travel far for a meal. Grouper fishing over cheese-rock bottoms and ledges is excellent. Limits of gags are being caught in water as shallow as 25 feet, with the best action in 40-50 feet. Red grouper are best caught in 70- to 90-foot depths.

Tips: Start in close and work offshore. Use heavy tackle with 60- to 80-pound leaders and lockdown drags to prevent cutoffs in shallow water.

Close to the Beach is Hot

What's hot: East winds have the bait schools hanging close to the beach, luring large mackerel, bonita, bluefish, sharks and kingfish. As long as the water temperature is in the upper 60s and the wind out of the east, the area will be a hot spot.

Technique: Start with a livewell full of whitebait. Rig rods with 30-pound leaders and a No. 2 long shank hook. Anchor over hard bottom and deploy a frozen chum block. Chum the area with live whitebait every five minutes to keep fish feeding behind the boat. Nose hook the bait and cast it where fish are striking the surface. A few kingfish may be caught using this technique, but to target them you'll need to slow troll. Use large threadfins and scaled sardines rigged with a stinger rig. Troll two or three rods as slow as your boat can go. Work areas where you see birds flocking and mackerel striking the surface. Change baits often to keep them lively. Drags should be loose and the rods need to have at least 200 yards of line. When you hook up, keep the boat close to the fish so you can maneuver around the crab traps. The best action has been sunup to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to sundown.

Doug Hemmer charters out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 347-1389.