Fish are biting on both sides of the state!
Capt. Chad Starling
December 22, 2008
Steinhatchee - Saltwater Fishing Report
With the winds and waves not being very favorable this past week on the East Coast, Team Buck Rogers flipped the coin and went to the west coast. Wednesday (Dec 17th) we fished out of Steinhatchee, FL and went out about 30 miles. We caught at least 40 grouper, all undersized except 5 legals. We had 2 red grouper that went 9 pounds, and 3 gags. We also caught at least 40 red snapper, with 2 of them weighing in at 14lbs.
I wonder why the season is closed? Oh yeah, there's no red snapper in the Gulf! Well, unfortunately, with the season on red snapper being closed, we were only able to keep the video and pictures we took of catching them. All were released unharmed. The white grunts and black sea bass were biting pretty good; we ended with 120 white grunts, 25 black sea bass, a triggerfish, a 175lb bull shark and 5 grouper (3 gags and 2 red grouper (9lbs each).
On the Atlantic Coast, the red snapper continue to bite well along with vermillion snapper and black sea bass. Saturday my charter had a red snapper, 25 vermillion snapper, 5 triggerfish, 5 atlantic sharpnose sharks, and 65 big black sea bass. The big sea bass are here now (up to 3lbs) and should be here through the rest of winter.You can also go to my website www.teambuckrogers.com and see some video of the trips I've written about in this report.
Steinhatchee Fishing Forecast:
I love winter fishing in northeast Florida. The red snapper continue to bite good along with their cousin the vermillion snapper. The fishing in January should continue to be the same as we don't have too much super cold weather so the water temp should remain pretty consistent. It's nice to catch fish without having to sweat all day to do it. The black sea bass are here during the winter months and fish up to, and over 3lbs are common during winter. The great thing about Florida fishing is that no matter what time of year it is, a knowledgable charter captain can find fish by finding the right water temperature. With our access to the Gulf stream, which pumps warm water north into our fishing grounds from down south, this helps maintain a pretty consistent warming trend year round. Don't think the fish shut down during winter; it's just the opposite in Florida; cold weather fires the fish up! The fishing pressure is lower due to the "fair weather fishermen" so that's more fish for those cowboy up and dress for the occassion! Now go buy a jacket, some gloves, and a hat and make plans to go fishing and head offshore!
Target Species:
Bottom Fish
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