The bite over the Thanksgiving holiday was sporadic. Just prior to front pushing through the bite was hot on Monday (big seatrout near the sound). As the front pushed through on Tuesday and Wednesday most fisherman were likely in warmer more comfortable environs. Thanksgiving day, the after the front conditions were still pretty unsettled. Fishing was good heading into the weekend!
Capt. Bill Jarrell said during this time of the year a fish metabolism slows down and to fish smaller baits. This is a good tip! Drifting a shore line with a fly rod pitching a small fly such as clouser minnows can be fun and effective! In the current on a fly seatrout will give nice fight. When targeting seatrout opt for color. Chartreuse is a classic as well as chartreuse and white, white, or christmas tree patterns. The trick for seatrout is color and down size your offering as temperatures drop. When selecting likely areas to target seatrout look for a drift. An ideal bank is one that isn’t too steep ( has a gentle slop), has a good drift and plenty of features such as point, pockets and gullies to name a few. Gullies or small creeks that have little or no current are less likely to hold fish. Gullies or creeks that have a good drift can be holding fish. Ideal flies for seatrout are clouser minnows, half and halves, and deceivers. Fish relatively small flies 1 or 1/0 and bright colors. The same hold true for plastics downsize your plastics and opt for bright colors. That being said as you as you begin your fishing start with contrasting colors ( a dark and bright color) and see which is getting the hits and switch accordingly. In general the bright colors will likely work the best.
Tides for the coming week look good all less than 8 feet. Saturday and Sunday the tides are building to 8.2 and 8.5 feet respectively. The better fishing will likely be during the week. Water temperature is already is in the mid to upper 50’s , pretty cold for this time of year. Joey’s Bait Shop at Hogan’s marina has already closed for the year. Apparently Joey was having difficultly finding bait. Adam’s Bait House is normally open until New Year’s. Bandy’s remained opened last year throughout the winter. Its’ that time of year when bait is becoming scarce. If you’re planning on purchasing shrimp you might want to call ahead.
Hope this of help! Keep what you plan to eat fresh and release the rest!
Good fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan