Although November is notorious for
greeting us with howling easterly winds as our first significant cold
front passes, fishing in and around the inlets will remain
outstanding until water temperature drop below 70 degrees. In the
inlets of Ponce De Leon, Port Canaveral and Sebastian, snook fishing
will remain excellent during low light periods and at night as the
remaining baitfish traveling down the beach are forced in close to
the jetties and other structure with the best action occurring during
slack tidal periods, especially the end of high tide. During these
periods hungry gamefish take advantage of slow currents and feed
heavily. As the tide begins to fall, gamefish move into their ambush
locations to finish off their frenzy. Breeder redfish, jack crevalle,
bluefish, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, sharks, and tarpon all share in
the fury, so step up your tackle size and hold on.
My favored
technique is to cast net live mullet, and drift them through the
passes on a sliding sinker rig. Look for areas of feeding activity,
birds diving and fish busting, and adjust the size of your weight
based of current. The rig I use starts out with a Daiichi Bleeding
Bait circle hook proportionate to your bait size to allow a natural
swimming appearance. In simple terms, small bait small hook, large
bait large hook. Next, I attach a 30-inch section of 30 to 40 pound
test fluorocarbon leader to a 20-pound test braided mainline. If
large tarpon are your target, step your leader size up to 60-pound
test. Before I tie on my hook, I slide my slip sinker on to the
leader, then attach the hook, and finish the rig off by using a split
shot located between the barrel sinker and the hook adjusted to keep
the weight off of the hook. As I drift through the passes, I like to
cast parallel to my drift with just enough weight to keep the bait in
the feeding zone, and increase the barrel sinker size as the current
picks up. Additionally, as we near the end of November and finger
mullet diminish, switch to pinfish on pigfish as bait. Finally and
most importantly, pass fishing in November can be dangerous, so as I
drift through the inlet, I keep the helm manned with my engine
running, keeping a close eye on boat traffic and sea conditions, and
always be prepared for evasive action if needed.