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Better Results Come Later In The Day

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By BILL MILLER

Published: December 7, 2008

The old saying, "the early bird gets the worm," does not apply to fishing this time of year.

Water temperatures are so low, early in the morning, that fish are not very active at first daylight like they are in the spring and summer. I have found that as the sun rises and heats the water, even a degree or two, that is when fish become more active.

The other good news part of this for anglers is you get to sleep in another hour or two.

Last week, I went trout fishing and I was on the water at 7 a.m., which is just after daylight this time of year. I knew the trout were in the area I was fishing, but they were not biting jigs or frisky live shrimp.

After two or three hours of catching very little, all of a sudden the trout started biting like crazy. What was the difference? The water had warmed up 3 degrees and that was all it took to stimulate the bite.

I think this theory also applies to bottom fishing for grouper. One morning last week, about 9 a.m., we were fishing for grouper in 35 feet of water. Our fish finder showed plenty of fish sitting on a nice ledge, but they would not bite.

A few small grouper were caught but the bite was very slow and non-aggressive. We tried dead and live bait looking for the key to spark the bite. Around 11 a.m. the grouper really started biting and we caught plenty of big keeper grouper.

There was no teasing the grouper into biting, they attacked our baits. Live frisky pin fish was the bait of choice. Why did the grouper start biting then? I don't know for sure, but the sun was high in the clear sky and the surface water temp had risen 2 or 3 degrees.

Sheepshead are starting to gather up at bay area bridges. Use fresh shrimp pieces, fiddler crabs or green muscles for bait and fish the pilings for best results.

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