DECEMBER 2014

2014: December Pier Fishing Forecast

You may now call yourself a diehard fisherman if you find yourself at the end of our piers this month. It is frigidly cold out there with day time highs in the lower sixties and night time lows in the mid thirties. The North wind is bone chilling to say the least. In spite of the temperatures there are many species of fish out there.

Redfish and Whiting are the two main types of plentiful fish this time of year. Whiting are found mostly in the surf along the beaches. Whiting are also found on sand and mud-bottoms around piers, bridges, in the passes, sounds and inlets. You can easily catch these fish with light tackle and a piece of shrimp. Whiting have small mouths, so make sure you aren’t using bait that is too big. Cast your bait just past the breaking waves and you should be able to catch plenty of fish. Most whiting are caught in the sloughs and cuts that are located within 10 to 20 feet of the shore.

Reds feed at the bottom on crustaceans and mollusks. It eats small fish, especially shrimp, pinfish, small crabs, and finger mullet, are excellent for catching Redfish. They like moving water and rarely feed on a slack tide. They move into shallow water on an incoming tide to feed and may feed actively at daybreak and dusk. Tackle selection should include spinning or bait casting gear, 10 to 20 lb rating and a very sharp 1/0 to 4/0 hook to accommodate their hard, bony mouths.

Other possible catches include: Black Drum, Black snapper, Bluefish, Pompano, Flounder, and Sheepshead.