Wintertime is here and now is the time to go hunting for that deer or turkey, or anything else to eat. I don’t know when we will be able to bring home a gag grouper as the government has not informed us of these dates. However, the red grouper are still coming on strong and some of them are very good size. You can still bring home a scamp and there seems to be quite a few there. The amberjack will still be biting and they are plentiful and all sizes, from small to extra large. You can still catch a good mess of vermilion snapper as they seem to be showing up on most all of the favorite fishing spots and appear to be larger than anytime this past year. You can always catch a good mess of white snapper in the deeper water.
Inshore fishing looks like it is going to be a banner year if the weather will just cooperate. The fish in the St. Joe Bay appear to be gaining in numbers and they are hungry. You should try the ICW for those really nice speckled trout and redfish, particularly the ICW coming out at Port St. Joe. The kings, Spanish, wahoo, and mahi mahi have all headed south and we will just have to wait until late next Spring to put our trolling hooks out again.
Don’t forget to file a float plan, and let somebody know when you are going to return.