Winter has caught up with us.
We enjoyed great weather thru mid January but the cold has found southwest Florida. We are looking at several days of cold windy weather. Highs in the sixties feel cold to us, and that is usually our low temp. When ever the temps climb back up to normal seventies we will get back to good catching.
It's time to clean up on sheepshead and a few whiting. They spawn now and gather around our Gulf Passes. The sheepies are sneaky bait stealers but tasty. They are one of the few fish that we are allowed to keep more than we can eat fresh. When conditions are aligned we catch more than I want to clean. Sometimes we see schools of these black and white striped fish along the pilings. Fresh shrimp are the easiest bait to purchase but sand fleas and fiddler crabs are even better if you are ready to catch your own. Frequently we stumble into some tasty pompano here too.
Snook are cold and will begin feeding when water temps climb back into the seventies. We have seen some fine trophy fish and some slot table fare ones also. The waters are clear but just to cold for these sub tropical Gamefish. Baitfish are or at least were available, when it heats up. If you have confidence in lures they are awesome. You need to believe in them. It just takes some desire to develop the skill to motivate strikes with plastics. We have some hot new Mirrolures that are itching to show you how good they are.
Reds and trout are ready just slowed down by the chilly waters. Fish are cold blooded and get lazy when temps drop into the fifties. The boat traffic is minimal so the waters clear up and fish can see our careless movements. Stealth is necessary for fishy results. Just take it slow and be patient.
King and Spanish Mackerel are due to pop back up hungry as soon as the waters warm also. Migratory fish never made it south this year and baitfish are still offshore here. Silver kings, tarpon are only a month or two away. It's time to line up your Summer dates now. We are so lucky to be able to look forward to seventies and eighties in a week or so. I am so thankful we do not have ten feet of snow to plow thru. Let's Go Fishin' soon. Captain Van Hubbard