December 19^th 2012 Venice weather is beautiful and fishing is fine book your after Christmas trip now.

         Our weather is unbelievable and waters are crystal clear both in and out side. Conditions are almost too good except everyone is busy with Christmas shopping. Snook are catch and release but available for fun. I am seeing plenty every time I’m out and some big fish also! Saw several schools eating glass minnows recently. Trout and redfish are ready and it’s not crowded if can you slip away to catch some fish? We even have some mackerel and pompano if you want to invest some time to find some hungry ones; they don’t sit still.

          It’s great to be able to see so much inside Lemon Bay and Charlotte Harbor again. Stump pass has changed a lot from storms. We need some rain but the drought, calm winds, and cooler water allows us to see everything in most areas until boat wakes stir up the shorelines. Our winter bird migrations have arrived and it’s fun to observe all the variety and abundance. White pelicans are everywhere. Wading birds converge on fishing spots to eat the same minnows our fish enjoy. It’s a great way to locate feeding fish; just note bird activity. We all know to look for sea gulls to find fish but shore birds are sure fish food indicators also. And fish follow the food! Eagles, osprey, and plenty of dolphins help pull us back to nature as we chase the fish.

          On a trip Saturday we even caught big pompano on top water She Dogs by Mirrolure? First time for top water pompano and we had several fight over the chartreuse and silver She Dog. We also got several more on the tried and dependable Doc’s Goofy Jig. Trout and reds were shy but that fresh pompano lunch at Stump Pas grille was awesome.

          I’m going to be doing classes at Florida Gulf Coast University in Punta Gorda again this year. I’ll have the details after the holidays, so watch for your chance to become a better fisherman. It’s exciting that I get to share my knowledge and experiences with folks wanting to learn more about local fishing. I really enjoy the questions and feed back from you; please remember that you can email me questions from my web site anytime. I’ll respond as soon as I can. Please remember that I want to teach you how to fish, what to use, how to rig, etc…  

          I took an afternoon off to enjoy lunch with my family at Harvey’s in St Pete yesterday and then saw many old friends at Gators last night. Joe hosted his annual Toys for tots Christmas party and it was well attended! Saw folks I hadn’t seen in decades; I must be getting older? Most of us are doing well and everyone was smiling! Please find time to share fishing with family and friends when ever you can! Merry Christmas and thank you for your support it keeps me going. Captain Van Hubbard <www.captvan.com>