So long, 2011!

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

As we come to the end of another fishing year, I hope all of your fishing dreams came true in 2011.

Maybe it was catching the big one, or getting that rod and real you’ve always wanted delivered by Santa, or taking that dream fishing vacation you read about in some magazine. No matter what it may have been, let’s hope 2012 tops 2011.

I had a pretty good year in 2011, especially in December when I started catching snook. Although they were all small snook, it indicates that they are on the rebound, and 2012 should be a better year.

For the coming year, I’ve already booked a dream trip to fly fish for bonefish in the Bahamas. The hotel, fishing guide, and plane ride were all booked more than two months ago. Now it’s just the anticipation of waiting to take the trip.

I have dreams about it ...

White-sand beaches and crystal-clear water on flats that are teeming with fish.

I hope to have a great report when I return. I have just one job to do before we leave: teach the wife to fly fish. That should prove interesting!

On our home waters, the fishing seems to be fairly steady. I’m still catching small snook on a fly almost every time I go out.

This past Tuesday, I caught three on a small white fly. There are plenty of bluefish that will eat just about anything you throw at them. Flounder are still around and are eating mud minnows fished on a jighead in deeper water or under a cork if you are in the flats. Sheepshead can be found around the oyster beds in the flats and on dock pilings in the canals and Intracoastal Waterway.

Trout are in deeper water and can be taken on a fly while fishing with an intermediate fly line. They will also take a diving plug or a Berkley Gulp/jighead combination.

Redfish are moving onto the flats, but it hasn’t been cold enough to push the big schools up there. Also, the lack of cold hasn’t made the water clear enough to sight fish. By the time you see a fish, you’re right on top of it, and all you can do is just watch it swim away. It’s best to blind cast a Gulp bait to locate fish.

Here’s to wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year and good fishing in 2012!