Coming into November, our Hunters Moon runs later than our friends to the north because we are still in summer.

Crazy catches have been coming to the dock, like barracudas, on the Big Bend waters. I’ve seen them here and there on occasion but not multiple anglers catching them on the same weekend!

Grouper hunters have done well from the shallow rocks all the way out to 30-feet. With the warm conditions, fish for gags like it was September by using live baits. 

Fresh shrimp will catch mangrove snapper, Spanish mackerel, sea bass, and grunts. 

Inshore trout, reds, and snook are king! Popping Corks with a soft plastic on moving water are the best for trout. With redfish, look for incoming tide and dimples of mullet around western points. For snook, try fishing near passes and river mouths on deep drops around rocky points. 

November is a great time for shore lunch. Cooking your catch on an island is a good way to enjoy a few fish that you caught. An easy spot would be at Shell Island in Crystal River. Many more are around the Big Bend if you do some research.

I always remember doing shore lunch at Shell Island with Bob Chappall and Roger Bachelor, who set up big parties out of Crystal River. Capt. Crab and Capt. Don Watkins would do the cooking, and I would clean fish because you have to learn from the best to be almost as good!

Incoming high tide will be late evening or early morning this weekend.

Homosassa Weekly Fishing Report from Captain William Toney

To schedule a fishing charter or shore lunch excursion with Captain Toney, visit his website.

If you want to learn more about how to catch Nature Coast fish from Captain Toney, subscribe to his videos at https://inthespread.com