Went out for fun today to explore some off of the cape area of the mainland everglades. November fishing in Islamorada is often a better time for species such as snook and redfish as water temperatures cool down a bit and there is a lot of whitebait a.k.a pilchards around. We had a good trip catching double digit snook and a few other rascals including a nice triple tail. Pilchards have been fairly plentiful so most days we are catching a load of them in the morning and bringing them along with nice live shrimp. Today we worked some new areas exploring. We had some luck this morning with a few nice snook on the last of the falling tide. After that it was a little slow while we tried some different areas. Then late in the afternoon we found a few good spots on the higher incoming tide for snook. Both places the water was very nice and pushing easily along tree-lined shores and snook were waiting there to ambush prey. The live pilchards are great because you can chum with them a little bit and get the fish really fired up and congregated in one area.
November 2013
11/8/13 November islamorada backcountry fishing report
The winds laid down yesterday some but kicked up again today. Northerly in the morning which we like this time of year. The tide has been very low, being pushed out by the wind from several days earlier. The last two days we got into a sick redfish bite, both days we caught 50+ fish. A mix of little guys and slot/over slot fish. They are eating shrimp and pilchards, whatever you throw at ’em. Snook are mixed in too. Today we got into some nicer size snook too, while yesterday they were mostly little guys. The ticket with them is live pilchards which have been plentiful. On the ocean side beaches you can find plenty especially with the northerly wind this time of year. As it continues to get into winter time, this type of fishing should stay good. Black drum and sheepshead will move in more and more as it cools off. Cold fronts can provide great opportunity if your in the right area, and many of these spots are protected from the wind and weather so it can be a fantastic trip!