Bite AtlasFlorida field guide← Explore
A year on the water

Find your season.

Every month brings a different reason to get outside. Explore typical patterns, then check your region before you go.

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Showing November · Current month in Florida

November field notes

Fall Run Continues — Cooler Water = Hungry Fish

Water cools into the 70s and fish feed aggressively to build winter reserves. Pompano run strengthens. Seatrout and redfish are crushing it on flats. Sheepshead return to structure.

Seasonal activity
Peak
Typical water
68–77°F

Species to explore

Florida PompanoSpotted SeatroutRedfishSnookFlounderSheepsheadWhiting

Build your approach

  • Pompano run in full force — the beaches are producing limits on good tide days.
  • Tail end of the mullet run — the last schools slide south along the beaches, and predators stay on them.
  • Seatrout activity explodes on cooling flats — popping corks and live shrimp are deadly. Harvest is closed in the Indian River Lagoon region Nov. 1-Dec. 31.
  • Sheepshead return to jetties and bridges — fiddler crabs and shrimp on light tackle.
  • Flounder bite peaks around Thanksgiving — work sandy channel edges slow. Harvest is closed statewide until Dec. 1, so release them.
  • Snook still feeding but moving into winter holds — bridges, docks, warm-water outfalls. Harvest closes Dec. 1 in Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay and Dec. 15 on the Atlantic.