# Winter Fishing?



## BreadMan (Aug 20, 2008)

From December until March, what kind of fishing can be done?
Assuming you have the boat to handle the weather, what is there offshore?
I know inshore there are sheepshead, redfish, and trout in the rivers. 



What else?


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

BreadMan said:


> From December until March, what kind of fishing can be done?
> Assuming you have the boat to handle the weather, what is there offshore?
> I know inshore there are sheepshead, redfish, and trout in the rivers.
> 
> ...


edge blackfin, i've caught them in sight of condos in the winter. 
everything you can catch in the summer, kings thin out bait thins, but theres still plenty ti catch when the water cools off


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## NKlamerus (Jan 4, 2016)

Not much IMO. It's not a matter of what's biting, it's a matter of what we aren't allowed to harvest.


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

BIG Kings in the Bays and Jack Crevalle. Big Ass Redfish on the Gulfside and winter flounder.


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## BreadMan (Aug 20, 2008)

CurDog said:


> BIG Kings in the Bays and Jack Crevalle. Big Ass Redfish on the Gulfside and winter flounder.



Trolling for kings in the winter? Are they in the bays?


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

BreadMan said:


> Trolling for kings in the winter? Are they in the bays?




No, when the water temp hits around 68 they start to disappear. They are headed for more tropical water temps. They do catch a few odd balls now and then but to target them is tough.


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

BreadMan said:


> Trolling for kings in the winter? Are they in the bays?



Yes, around Nov and Dec. I don't troll for them. Caught them 50+#. 





lobsterman said:


> No, when the water temp hits around 68 they start to disappear. They are headed for more tropical water temps. They do catch a few odd balls now and then but to target them is tough. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


^^^ LOL,^^^ you've a lot to learn.


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

CurDog said:


> Yes, around Nov and Dec. I don't troll for them. Caught them 50+#.
> ^^^ LOL,^^^ you've a lot to learn.



Like I said the majority disappear but there are a few here. Secondly I personally could care less about catching another king much less targeting them. If I never caught another one I would be great with that. In November and December the water temp is not extremely cold anyway, so there will always be a few stragglers hanging around. I used to target them off of Canaveral which is where I grew up with light tackle and live bait. There is nothing better to see than a big king 30 feet up with a live mullet in his teeth. But I do not like the taste so I don't care to catch another one. They also cost me far too much when jig fishing. On one trip me and 2 other guys lost 40 jigs, and they were not knock offs at that time.


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

CurDog said:


> BIG Kings in the Bays and Jack Crevalle. Big Ass Redfish on the Gulfside and winter flounder.


In Dec? Kings head south, usually mid to late November, depending on the cold front and water temps. Might find some Spanish in deep holes in the bay in Dec, but Spanish tolerate colder water than kings do.


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

Hmm, so much for the fish biologist and the internet huh. Temps in the 30's, water pretty chilly too. I bet you have never tried them during this time so ur probably repeating things you've heard.


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## BreadMan (Aug 20, 2008)

So to recap:


Redfish
Maybe kings, maybe not. 

Maybe Spanish, maybe not. 



Anything else?


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## capt'n slim (Feb 8, 2008)

What do we catch around here in the winter? Mostly a cold.


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## SurfRidr (Apr 24, 2012)

BreadMan said:


> So to recap:
> 
> 
> Redfish
> ...


Speckled trout - you can get them in the upper bays / lower rivers. Slower moving baits, and when it's cold sometimes baits you hardly move at all, just let them sink - flukes, MR's, very lightly weighted jigs with soft platics. May be tough to locate but find one you might find many. :thumbsup:


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

CurDog said:


> Hmm, so much for the fish biologist and the internet huh. Temps in the 30's, water pretty chilly too. I bet you have never tried them during this time so ur probably repeating things you've heard.


Been chasing kings for over 50 years. The ONLY kings I have caught or seen caught in December was during a very warm fall. We caught kings off Panama City Beach pier on a Dec 10th fishing the edge of a major cold front. The water temp was 68 that day, the front came through that afternoon and by the next morning the water temp was 65. Never saw another king till the next spring. Cold temps slow kings down. A slow king is a dead king.

Rule of thumb...when the menhaden leave the bay, so do the kings.


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## k-p (Oct 7, 2009)

The only fish that are here show up at Memorial day and leave at Labor Day. the rest of the year there's nothing here


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

BreadMan said:


> So to recap:
> 
> 
> Redfish
> ...




Smoker Kings are still there, just got to know where and what baits to use. 






kingfish501 said:


> Been chasing kings for over 50 years. The ONLY kings I have caught or seen caught in December was during a very warm fall. We caught kings off Panama City Beach pier on a Dec 10th fishing the edge of a major cold front. The water temp was 68 that day, the front came through that afternoon and by the next morning the water temp was 65. Never saw another king till the next spring. Cold temps slow kings down. A slow king is a dead king.
> Rule of thumb...when the menhaden leave the bay, so do the kings.




There you go, Probably should have been chasing them in P'cola Bay then. But I can see you're a man that needs to be right and have the last word. So lets just leave it at that.


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

CurDog said:


> Smoker Kings are still there, just got to know where and what baits to use.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Seeings how you are obviously the resident cold water guru on kingfish. We expect to see a bunch of posts this winter!


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

BreadMan said:


> So to recap:
> 
> 
> Redfish
> ...


Go fishing with CurDog to catch kings in the winter.

There's also pompano in the bay, gotta find the water that's a touch warmer. Incidental catch, make you think you caught a spec on steroids.


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## cody&ryand (Oct 3, 2007)

Bottom fishing is great during the winter if you can get out there.


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## Shark Sugar (May 26, 2015)

If you find calm enough days and have the range then go deep dropping. Those species stay open year round...snowy and yellowedge grouper, barrel fish, tile fish, kitty mitchell, longtail bass...all good eating. Test your might and hand crank a few of them from about 700 feet.


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