The game fishing season is almost over, with November month closing in. Discover and explore the waters of Stuart, Florida, with its bountiful game fishes, from blackfin tuna and hammerhead sharks to snapper fishes and mackerels, for enjoyment, relaxation, and a game fishing experience.
What fish can you catch in November in Florida?
1. Black Fin Tuna
For avid anglers, if you wish for a big catch this November, tuna is the first game fish of the month. Blackfin tuna grows to a maximum of 100cm in length and weighs 21 kg. It is identified by a black stripe to dark blue on its back, sometimes with a silver belly and golden hue below.
The Black-Fin Tuna, or Thunnus atlanticus, is the smallest in the Tuna family. It can be caught deeper in the waters, while smaller ones stay closer to the surface. Black-fin tuna are known to travel in schools and can also be found with schools of Skipjack Tuna in the Florida Keys.
A blackfin tuna can be found in areas of a wide range and has migratory habits, making them a bigger challenge even for veteran anglers. Locating Blackfins in Florida are usually found in places such as Stuart, Florida Keys, Destin, Cocoa Beach, Miami, and West Palm Beach.
2. Hammerhead Shark
If you long for a more adventurous catch this month, Hammerhead Shark is your next season’s target for your game fish collection. Its scientific genus name is Sphyrna, commonly called hammerhead sharks, T-heads, or T’s, which can be identified literally with its hammer-like structure of the head. Its eyes are on the sides of its flattened “hammer” head, giving it a 360-degree vision below and above.
Fortunately, hammerheads are for catch and release only, and landing and/or harvesting them is illegal because they are becoming extinct. However, the ‘shark’ challenge is still enjoyed by many and is considered priceless.
Locating hammerheads is easy, as many can be found in shallow waters, schooling around, and tanning in the sun. They are mostly around insular and continental coral reefs and on inlets and mouths of bays. Another way to locate T’s is to find their feeding grounds. Look for schools of fish such as sea catfish, groupers, stingrays, squids, and even sharks. For certain, they are just around catching their own prey.
3. Snapperfish
Snapperfish is one of veteran anglers’ favorite game fish because of their delicacy. Also known as Snappers, belonging to about 105 species of fishes of the family can be identified with their long bodies, large mouths, blunt or forked tails, and sharp teeth.
Catching a snapper fish requires both bait and lures. Snappers will bite on any lures like jerk baits, soft plastics, trolled plugs, metal jigs, and poppers. Slowly watching a snapper coming out from the bottom waters and popping out the metal jigs is one of the best moments to enjoy how you can lure and catch your wishful fish coming true.
There are several places snappers can be caught. Among them are over grass flats, bars, flats along mangrove shorelines, and structures such as docks, artificial reefs, natural rock ledges, and bridges. When discovering more types of snappers, Florida has a lot to offer by checking out places like 30A/Santa Rosa Beach, Destin, Panama City Beach, Tampa, Fort Walton Beach, and Key West.
4. Yellow Tail Mahi
For your 4th November game fish collection of the season – Yellow Tail Mahi. Also commonly called dolphinfish or mahi-mahi, it is one of two ray-finned fishes under the family Coryphaenidae that dwell on subtropical, tropical, and off-shore temperate water surfaces.
Typically, catching a Mahi-mahi in Florida involves using baits such as cut bait, live bait, spoons, artificial lures, or jigs or trolling natural baits such as cigar minnows or rigged ballyhoo.
Locating this offshore fish is not a problem because, at this time of the season, the Subtropical waters of South Florida are the perfect place for this migratory fish. Popularly, Mahi-mahi can be found on the waters of the Florida Keys and Atlantic Coast of Florida, where most of them swim close to the surface.
5. Swordfish
Swordfish, under the scientific genus Xiphias gladius, is popularly identified by its pointed, flat, and long bill. The only member of the Xiphiidae family with a round and elongated body can be found in temperate and tropical areas of the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean.
Swordfishes offers the best as a game fish and food delicacy for fish anglers. Popularly considered one of the fastest swimmers at around 60mph, sprints gave game anglers the best fishing experiences of a lifetime. Imagine hooking a strong swordfish, and then it shoots out of the water from the depths instantly and dives back into the water.
Since Florida is known as a Swordfish breeding ground, locating these game fish is easy. They can be found below from Key West to the Jupiter Inlet, feeding from surface to bottom areas over Filefish, Redfish, Mackerel, and Squid Barracuda.
6. Grouper
A Grouper, under the subfamily Epinephelinae, is another exciting and most sought-after by anglers because it is so good to eat! And when it comes to the fight challenge, it’s one of the best game fighters in the sea. They are strong, heavy-weighed, and challenging game fish that require a lucky angler to work out because it will tire you out.
Identifying a grouper is difficult because they have similar shapes. Most of them are defined by a wide mouth and a large head with various colors on their body, most commonly with rectangular-shaped dark grey blotches.
7. Tarpon
Tarpon, belonging to the family Megalopidae, is also one of the most popular game fishes in Florida. They are famous for being a jumper as high as 10 feet from the water while rattling its gills. They are also known by other names such as Silver Kings, Sabalo, or Silver Sides. Though tasty, they are not a delicacy because of their bony structure.
Their compressed bodies and large scales make Silver Kings easy to identify. Usually, tarpons have greenish or bluish-colored backs ranging from silver to dark, while their belly and sides are brilliant silver-colored.
These silver fishes can be found in estuaries, open marine waters, coral reefs, and shallow coastal waters. They are also usually found in 74 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit waters. You can check out several locations to find Tarpons, such as along the West Coast, Ten Thousand Islands and Everglades, Lower Keys, Middle, and Upper Keys.
8. Mackerel
End this November with your last game of fish—mackerels. Commonly, mackerel is a name applied to different species of pelagic fish. They are mostly found in tropical and temperate waters, feeding along offshore and coastal areas of oceans.
Mackerels are identified by their deeply forked tails and vertical stripes on their backs. Geographically, they live in separate populations and are more restricted in their distribution. Most of them migrate in groups along the coast, and some feed on grounds, usually near areas of upwelling.
Mackerels prefer to stay in warm waters, at least around 70 degrees. They can be found along shallow, clear waters, even sandy shore-lined beaches. Also, mackerels can be caught along rocks and piers with deeper waters feeding off below. Florida offers a variety of mackerel all year round, and November is one of the best seasons for mackerel fishing.
Contact Stuart, FL’s Leader in Boating Charters
Hate 2 Lose has been providing 30 years of high-quality fishing charter services and the customer experience in Stuart, Florida. We offer Deep-Sea Fishing Charter trips for you to enjoy the sun, relax, and catch your wishful game fish. We can help you experience what a true fishing experience is all about, which includes finding these fishes and having the best fishing experience of a lifetime.
