It's COLD!!!! I It's been reported that we had twelve days in a row below freezing OUCH! Well, I can only think of one good thing that will come out of this crazy weather, so be ready. The cold will run a lot of bait out of the bays in search of the warmer water along the beaches, and where there's bait there will be fish – eventually.
There is one thing that I want to touch on- there's this phenomenon that happens this time of the year here along the panhandle. Us rednecks call it Pensacola Bone fishing. What this means is the winter False Albacore are extremely hungry and they'll run the beaches real close to the shore, I've seen them in such shallow water that their backs would be completely out of the water. So listen up, if you want to have some fun sight fishing in this crystal clear water it just doesn't get any better than this! These football shaped speedsters are easy to spot and look like giants against the white sand.
Fly-fishermen have really picked up on this and hence we came up with the Pensacola Bone fish deal. Just ask anybody that has had a chance to give it a try and they'll testify that it compares to south Florida Bone fishing in a big way. It's not just for fly-fishermen, the spin casters can get in on this action as well. Put a six pound BoBo on the end of an eight pound test spinning outfit and you better have an ample amount of line or you'll lose it all!
February will kick off the sight fishing along the beaches. The days with little to no cloud cover and a light north wind are what we look for. These days are perfect for running the beach looking for the Bull Red fish and False Albacore. We'll also be catching Sheepshead around the bridges and structure around the bays as they start their migration towards the passes. Sheepshead is very good table fare and better than that they are great fun to catch. This is a great experience for youngsters, fishermen and women of all ages to get into. Once you locate the fish it's catching one after another — its awesome fun!
It's not the fish that we catch that counts, it's the rush of the wind in your face and the sun on your neck and the contemplation of hearing that drag screaming against a big fish that keeps us coming back again and again.
I know one thing for sure - You ain't going to catch'em sittin' on the couch!!
So get out there, take a kid fishing and have a Blessed Day!
Professional Fishing Guide
Capt. Eddie Woodall
Full Net Fishing Charters L.L.C.
850-936-8203
www.fullnetcharters.com
A special thanks to my sponsors:
Blazer Bay Boats, Yamaha Outboards, SPRO Fishing Tackle, Gamakatsu Hooks, Big Bite Baits Inc. Lee Fisher Bait Buster Cast Nets, Pure Fishing Select Anglers Program, Berkley Gulp, ABU Garcia, Shakespeare Fishing, All-Star Rods, Penn Reels, X-Tools, Seven Strand, Johnson, Fenwick, Stren, Berkley, Spider and Pflueger.
