Northeast Florida Report (Christmas 2005)

Well, it's time to say merry Christmas and I hope you get or got what you wanted for Christmas. My list is short, how about some good weather and good fishing.
If the weather cooperates and we don't get any freezes the fishing should be great, this is the time of year I wait for, cool weather and clear water. The clear water makes for a bit of a challenge in stalking the fish, but that's the fun of it.

The creeks around Ponce Inlet will be good for trout, redfish, snook if the weather isn't to cold, even so if you venture up into places like Spruce Creek, west of the rail road tracks you will get into some of the best snook fishing of the entire year. These areas require several cold nights followed by several days of warm sunshine, afternoon fishing us generally best.

The bridges are pretty well shut down except for some sheepshead and black drum.

Tomoka river and the basin area are a different story, as far as I am concerned this is the finest fishing of the year. Like Spruce Creek, Tomoka River offers great snook fishing in cold weather as well as tarpon. No, I haven't lost my mind tarpon in cold weather. In the upper reaches of the Tomoka River there are Artesian wells and under ground springs that keep the water warmer than the surrounding areas and they become havens for the fish, all you have to do is hunt them out, and no I won't tell you where they are, that would be cheating.

Palm Coast will be a good bet during the cold weather because the canals will offer shelter from the cold winds and the water will stay warmer.


Tight lines, Capt. Kent Gibbens