November 2023 - Cooling Waters, Hot Bites

As water temperatures continued to decline, November offered excellent fishing opportunities. Speckled trout became more active over deeper grass flats, readily taking live shrimp under popping corks. Redfish and snook were still abundant, with soft plastics and live baits producing consistent results.

Offshore, gag grouper moved closer to shore, making them accessible to more anglers. Fishing over hard bottom areas with live pinfish or large cut baits yielded impressive catches.

Best Bait: Live shrimp for trout and redfish; live pinfish for grouper.

Hot Spots: Grass flats in Sarasota Bay for trout; mangrove shorelines in Tampa Bay for redfish; nearshore reefs for gag grouper.