UTERIn December, Florida's inshore fishing turns to sheepshead, speckled trout, black drum and redfish on every coast, pompano run the Atlantic beaches, and the warm water off the Keys and Palm Beach holds kingfish, cobia and sailfish. The month is run by cold fronts: fish the warm days before a front, go deep and slow for two days after it, and hit the flats again when the afternoon sun warms them.
December is our favorite month to tell people to go fishing, because the crowds are gone and the winter species are just turning on. Here is what's biting on each Florida coast, taken from the same month-by-month calendar Fish Scouter uses to rank species in the app, and how to plan around the fronts.
What's biting in December, coast by coast
| Water | The December headline | Best bets |
|---|---|---|
| Panhandle (Pensacola to Apalachicola) | Winter pattern: sheepshead, drum and trout in the deep bends | Sheepshead on docks and pilings, trout and reds in deep bayou bends, black drum on shrimp |
| Big Bend & Nature Coast | Into the rivers: the winter pattern sets up | Trout and reds in the spring-fed river holes on the fall, sheepshead on the rocks and markers |
| Tampa Bay & Sarasota | Sheepshead, drum, trout in the holes | Sheepshead on the Skyway and bridge pilings, trout and reds in canals and deep holes, drum on the flats |
| Charlotte Harbor to Naples | First fronts: creeks, rivers and the afternoon shorelines | Snook and reds up the Peace, Myakka and Caloosahatchee after fronts; sheepshead on docks and reefs |
| Ten Thousand Islands & Everglades | Dry season: clear water, low tides, fish in the open | Sight-fishing snook and reds on the outside flats and creek mouths on calm days |
| Florida Keys | Bones on warm days, patches and bridges otherwise | Kingfish, cobia and yellowtail on the reef; mangrove snapper on the bridges; bonefish when the flats top 70°F |
| Miami & Biscayne Bay | Winter reef and inlet pattern | Kings and cobia on the wrecks, snook at the inlets and bridges, snapper on the reef |
| Palm Beach & Treasure Coast | Sheepshead, drum and pompano take over | Pompano in the surf, sheepshead and drum on the bridges, sailfish and kings on the reef edge |
| Space Coast lagoons | Winter sight fishing begins | Reds and black drum on sunny-afternoon flats, trout in the troughs, sheepshead on pilings |
| First Coast (Jacksonville & St. Augustine) | Sheepshead, clear-water reds, deep trout | Jetties and docks for sheepshead, schooled reds in low-water creeks, trout in deep river bends |
Inshore in December
Sheepshead: the fish of the month
From Pensacola to Fort Pierce, December is when sheepshead stack up on pilings, docks, jetties and nearshore rock. FWC describes them moving nearshore in late winter and early spring to spawn, and December is the start of that build. Fish a fiddler crab or a piece of shrimp on a short leader, tight to the structure, and set the hook on the second tap. Our winter sheepshead guide has the rigs and the spots.
Speckled trout and redfish in the deep water
As the shallows cool, trout and redfish slide into the deepest water near the flats: residential canals, dredge holes, creek bends and the edges of channels. Slow everything down. A soft plastic on a light jighead crawled along the bottom, or a live shrimp under a popping cork on the warmer afternoons, catches more than a fast-moving lure. On the Space Coast lagoons and the First Coast creeks, the clear, cold water makes December the start of the best sight-fishing of the year for schooled reds.
Black drum
Black drum school up in the cold, around bridges, docks and the deeper edges of the flats. A half blue crab or a live shrimp on the bottom is all you need. Not sure whether that bronze fish is a red or a drum? See redfish vs black drum.
Snook go to the warm water
In South Florida, snook keep eating in December, but they move to warm refuges: residential canals, the upper rivers, deep holes and power-plant outflows. On the Gulf coast snook harvest is closed through the winter, and on the Atlantic coast harvest closes during December under FWC's current calendar. Treat every December snook as catch-and-release unless you have checked FWC's snook page that day. Cold-stunned snook need to be left alone, too.
The beaches: pompano and whiting
As the Carolina and north Florida surf cools, pompano push south and pile onto the beaches between Cocoa and Jupiter. December is prime on the Space Coast and Treasure Coast: sand fleas or clam on a double-drop pompano rig in the first trough, on the moving tide. On the Gulf side, pompano that have left the beaches hold in the passes and the deeper channels. Our pompano guide covers the rigs and how to read the trough.
Nearshore and offshore in December
- The Keys: the reef and the bridges are the sure thing. Kingfish and cobia show on the reef and the wrecks, yellowtail fill the chum slick, and mangrove snapper hold on the bridge channels.
- Palm Beach to Stuart: winter is sailfish time on the reef edge, best when a north wind runs against the Gulf Stream. Kingfish are on the same edge.
- The Gulf coast: on calm days between fronts, the nearshore artificial reefs off Tampa Bay, Sarasota and Charlotte Harbor hold sheepshead, mangrove snapper, black sea bass and grouper. Grouper and amberjack rules change by species and season, so read FWC's saltwater rules before you go. Our guide to Florida's artificial reefs shows how to find them.
How to fish a Florida cold front
A December front moves through in a predictable cycle, and the fish follow it. Fish Scouter's region notes describe the same pattern on every coast: fish drop to the warmest, deepest water available, then come back up as the sun warms the flats.
- Before the front: south or southwest wind, falling pressure, warm, cloudy weather. This is often the best bite of the week. Go.
- The front passes: the wind swings hard northwest to north, the temperature drops and the pressure jumps. The bite shuts down for most species.
- The next one to two days: bluebird sky, north wind, clear cold water, very low tides as the wind blows water out. Fish deep and slow: canals, holes, river bends, bridges, spring-fed rivers on the Nature Coast and power-plant outflows in Tampa Bay. Sheepshead and black drum keep eating when other fish don't.
- Two to three days after: the wind lays down and the water warms through the afternoon. Shallow dark-bottom flats that face the sun warm first. Fish them on the afternoon incoming tide.
Pressure and wind are covered in more detail in barometric pressure and fishing and wind and fishing.
December tides
Winter north winds push water out of the bays, so December lows can run lower than the tide table says. That drains the flats and concentrates fish in the channels and holes next to them, which is the whole reason the Everglades and the First Coast creeks fish so well this month. On the Gulf coast, where the tide is diurnal or mixed, one tide a day is usually much stronger; fish that one. The Space Coast lagoons barely have a tide, so fish the wind and the water temperature instead. Best tide for fishing explains how to read each type.
A December rule of thumb
Water temperature tells you more in December than any other number. Above about 70°F, the South Florida flats fish normally. In the 60s, fish the afternoons and the deeper edges. In the 50s, which the Panhandle, Big Bend and First Coast shallows can reach after a hard front, go deep, go slow, and target sheepshead and drum. If you're not sure where to start, our Florida fishing calendar covers the rest of the winter.
Regulations
Several Florida seasons open or close around the turn of the year, and bag and size limits change. We don't repeat them here because they change. Check FWC's saltwater regulations before every trip.
Plan December trips in Fish Scouter
Fish Scouter ranks every species for the water you're on, this hour. It reads the December calendar for your coast, the water temperature from the nearest sensor, the tide from the nearest NOAA station, the wind and the pressure trend. After a front, the region card in the app tells you where the fish went. We think it's the best way to decide whether today is a go-day or a stay-home day. Try Fish Scouter free.