November is always an incredible time to be out on the water. This year, the weather has been awesome, the water is clear and cool, and fish are on the move. The speckled trout are still scattered across the grass flats and have been pretty active lately. As cold fronts push through, these fish will start making their way back into their typical late fall and winter haunts in muddy bayous or deep sandy holes around the bay. They can become concentrated in these areas, and sometimes you may find yourself covered up by small fish. Worry not, there are big fish out there awaiting the patient angler determined to catch a trophy. Keep making small adjustments in bait, lure size, profile, and presentation until you find what sparks the interest of the bigger fish. Plugs, twitch baits, and soft plastics are all extremely effective on specks.
Look for redfish cruising the shallows during periods of low water. You can spot them by watching for wakes as the fish move, tails emerging from the water as they root around on the bottom for food, or, since the water is so clear, you can often see them just swimming. I like using small, soft-plastic imitations of baitfish or shrimp, and I personally prefer to wait until I see fish before presenting the lure. There are times when I will make a spot cast to certain features like a deeper pothole, a drop-off, or a patch of flooded reeds, but for the most part, I like to sight-cast to redfish. You can learn a lot about a fish by watching how it reacts to the introduction of your lure. There are also plenty of redfish holed up around deeper structures such as docks, bridges, and the pass.
The last few months have seen an abundance of inshore, shallow-water red snapper throughout the bays. Since red snapper season is open on weekends through the remainder of the year, I encourage you to take advantage of it. We have been catching most of the fish in 20 to 35 feet of water but have caught legal red snapper as shallow as 14 feet over a variety of different structures. Old bridge rubble, sunken boats, rock piles, submerged pipelines, and other structures have held really good fish. Most legal fish are between 16 and 20 inches; however, we have been catching snapper up to 30 inches and over 10 pounds. These fish can be tough to land since you are usually fishing tight to the structure. It is important to get a good jump on the fish at the initial strike. Since they are strong fighters, I prefer 30-pound medium-action spinning outfits with 30- to 40-pound leaders and a 6/0 circle hook, either flat-lined or using as light a lead as the current will allow. Bigger soft-plastic jigs work surprisingly well; however, it is tough to beat a flat-lined chunk of cigar minnow or squid.
Along the beaches right now, you can expect to find a variety of fish. Spanish mackerel, pompano, redfish, drum, and flounder can all be caught along the beaches. As the water continues to cool, though, many of these species will be leaving the area in search of warmer waters. Just about everything that runs along the beaches can be caught on a jig of some kind, but soaking live bait is also productive.
Good luck! If you have additional questions about what’s biting, how to catch them, or if you’d like to book a trip, I encourage you to give me a call or shoot me an email.
