Fishing with Capt. George Tunison | Several seasons set to open Jan. 1 — time to head offshore

Hope everyone got full stockings this Christmas along with that shiny new offshore boat, truckloads of new lures, the latest wide screen electronics and at least three new high dollar lithium batteries.

With fresh batteries installed and weather permitting, it’s time to go offshore as several species of reef fish soon open to harvest starting with the last red snapper weekend on the 24th and closing on the 31st with a 16-inch total length and two per person allowed.

Gulf lane snapper opens again on Jan. 1 with a way-to-small 8-inch total length and a default bag limit of 100 pounds in state waters. In federal waters, 20 are allowed under their 20 reef fish aggregate.

Super tasty hogfish is open year-round in state waters with five per person and a 14-inch total minimum. This is a must try fish if you’ve never eaten any.

Popular red grouper fishing also reopens on Jan. 1 with a 20-inch total length and two per angler allowed but gag grouper fishing will remain closed to harvest until Sept. 1, 2025.

Black grouper is open year-round in state waters with a 24-inch total length and four per angler. Season’s closed Feb. 1 to March 31 seaward of 20 fathoms.

Tasty grey or mangrove snapper is also open year-round with 10 per angler allowed and a 12-inch total length in federal waters and 10-inch total length in state.

Before going out make sure to have your State Reef Fish Designation up to date and consult the FWC website concerning aggregate boat limits to stay out of trouble. Also make sure you comply with at the ready descending devices to avoid further trouble.

With all these new openings, you’re ready to head out but how far, you ask. A good rule of thumb is the further out you go the bigger the fish. Right now 50 – 60 miles seems to be the best range to connect with bigger specimens. Wind has kept lots of the fleet in closer so these offshore fish are hungry and looking to fight if you can make a safe trip out to play with them.

For skinny water anglers, the inshore tides are low and slow for the weekend starting with a negative 0.5 at 7:30 on Saturday morning and an even lower early morning tide Sunday of negative 0.6 at 8 a.m. which will cut out a lot of early under-the-mangroves angling. On both days it will be a slow all day incoming tide which, unfortunately, doesn’t typically promote fast fishing.

It’s another run and gun, hunt and peck weekend so keep moving and keep casting. Deep docks, canals, bridges, bridge channels and creeks are all good starting points.

This past week lots of smaller snook have been taken on both sides of the harbor along with various sized redfish from rats to 24 inches. Pompano catches have been scattered but worth a try.

Trout and sheepshead are prime targets with both fish eating shrimp. Drift and cast any 3 to 6-foot live grass flats with soft plastics and trail shrimp and corks off the back of the boat for trout.

Quite a few bonnet head sharks have surprised trout anglers this past week as bonnies find fresh shrimp irresistible. These little sharks are always a treat for the ultra-lite trout angler as they really get those tiny reels drags singing.

We need continued colder weather to really get the sheepie bite going although I did see pictures of a 25-inch beauty caught at the Boca phosphate docks this past week. Any structures along or near the ICW are good sheepshead bets right now as well as checking out the major passes where juvenile grouper can also be caught and released. Hopefully the Matlacha Bridge will start producing larger sheepshead soon.

Two other options include fishing our nearshore numbers for a large variety of fish and for a change, head up the Caloosahatchee.

Happy New Year 2025!

Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at 239-579-0461 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.