Fishing

Inshore report

As we move into December, inshore fishermen want to make sure they have enough artificial baits to get through a day, because live baits can be hard to come by. The coveted scaled sardine, also known as pilchard, whitebait, or greenback, can become difficult to find.

Having a Plan B available for days without live bait makes a big difference.

A good basic lure box for winter should have a variety based on fishing style and personal preference, but there are a few proven lures that cover most of the bases.

JIGS: The lead-head and rubber-bodied jig is the champ when it comes to an effective, easy-to-use, multipurpose lure. The 1/4-ounce jig with a shad or shrimp body will catch just about anything, and there is really no wrong way to work it.

TOPWATER PLUGS: Takes a little more practice to work properly, but the commotion they create as they "walk" across the water draws great strikes.

WEEDLESS GOLD SPOON: Quite simply the best redfish lure ever devised.

SOFT-PLASTIC JERK BAITS: The only new member of the must-have club. These lures can be fished weedless, and their neutral buoyancy affords them a subtle action fish find irresistible.

Besides adapting to different baits, flats fishermen must adjust their tactics in December to work around lower tides. For the next few months tides will be lower overall, and the north winds from cold fronts have a tendency to push water even farther out of the bay. There will be many days the tide never covers many grass flats. For some species keeps them in nearby channels and deeper potholes along the edges. For others, such as redfish, low water actually opens new opportunities.

Around the bay area, extreme low tides are best for hunting tailing redfish. This sight-fishing rivals that of any exotic bonefish destination, and its readily available if you know where and when to look. To target them, you need to be mobile in very shallow water, from 0 to 2 feet above the top of the grass blades. This usually means using a very shallow draft boat or wading. As the redfish root in the bottom for food, their tails occasionally protrude above the surface, signaling their location. The biggest challenge is to present a bait before they spook. Even the most stealthy approach often ends with the fish leaving a large V-shaped wake as a fish flees to deeper water.

When you do line up a shot, cast the bait past the fish and slowly retrieve it across the surface toward the fish, then let it fall into the grass. After you let it sink, the hook will be caught in the weeds, but if you have placed it in the right place that's okay. Redfish have a remarkable sense of smell and will sniff out a shrimp with its tail trimmed off or a tapered piece of cutbait even if they can't see it.

Speckled trout fishing should be excellent, but the season is closed in the South Region (south of the Fred Howard Park Causeway, about 1.17 miles south of the Pasco/Pinellas line) through the remainder of the month. Look for the biggest specks to move into very shallow water early in the morning or on overcast and foggy days. Jerk baits are the top choice when gator trout are in skinny water.

For the past several winters bluefish have made a strong showing on flats in north Pinellas. Unlike many other local species they prefer cold water, which makes them a favorite on days when the rest of the inshore bite has been shut down because of a sudden drop in temperature.

Noisy topwater plugs get a bluefish's attention better then just about anything else and hold up better than soft-bodied lures. By keeping a set of long-handled hook removers nearby and eliminating one of the treble hooks from the lure, you can make release easier on both the fish and yourself. The less time your fingers are near the sharp teeth of a bluefish, the better.

If you do not mind a little company, pompano and permit fishing will be good in the power-plant outfall canals when it gets really chilly. The colder it gets, the more they huddle up in the warm water. Most power-plant regulars use a small, yellow jig with a quick up-and-down action, and they tip the jig with a piece of shrimp when the bite is on.