By MEL BERMAN

Somehow, weekend anglers have been the lucky recipients of great fishing weekends. Sure, we had another short-lived cold front, but all that bluster happened mid-week. Now that the weekend has arrived, our weather should be sunny and mild.

Though the season remains closed through January, snook are loving this ultra-mild winter. They are showing at docks, up in the rivers and along inland mangroves ready to jump all over well-presented bait.

Brian Goldsborough of Largo fished a line of mangroves. Using a 3-inch root beer-colored shrimp jig, he got a sudden pull, and then the line went dead. When he began reeling in, the line went the other way with his drag screaming. Goldsborough had what he described as a “beast.”

“It came right for the boat, jumped high and turned the opposite direction,” he said. “I did not re-rig after the last outing, so yeah, the jig broke off. This would have been the largest fish I’ve ever boated. It was at least 35 inches, a real bruiser.”

He finally did boat a couple of undersized linesiders and several ladyfish.

This mild weather has kept the nearshore grouper bite going. Diggers working the waters off Pasco and Hernando counties report brisk action in waters as shallow as 30 feet. There are many “dinks” — but enough keepers to make a trip worthwhile.

Hear “The Captain Mel Show” Saturdays from 6-9 a.m. on WFLA, 970 AM, and Sundays from 6-9 a.m. on WDAE, 620 AM. Also, visit “Fishing Florida OnLine Magazine” at capmel.com.