What an Amazing few weeks of weather here in Florida! Record low temperatures have been upon us for the first two weeks of January and it has been down right FRIGID. I didn’t do much fishing but paid close attention to weather reports, being very concerned about all of Florida’s fisheries and the impact this weather would have on them. Snook in West Florida, Tarpon in the estuaries, Redfish in the lagoon? How would they survive? Some parts of our state were hit harder than others with varied reports of fisheries health from across the Region. The state even issued a special executive order on the Closures for Tarpon, Bonefish and Snook. Check the link below for more info.
http://myfwc.com/docs/Newsroom/EO_10_03_SnookTarponBonefish.pdf
This past week however, the Mosquito Lagoon weather has been beautiful. With the bright sunny skies and 60-70 degree weather and light to moderate winds, the water temperature has risen quickly with the visibility being super clear. Water levels have also dropped to their winter-time depths across most of the lagoon.
I was able to take a few charters this past week. Most days were spent sight-fishing to schools of cruising redfish pitching a Riptide shrimp in natural or ghost shrimp. The fish are still quickly adjusting to the water temps and feeding aggressively in the middle of the day when the water is at its warmest. Look for a leeward bank with some soft bottom, possibly nesting birds, getting direct sunlight and you should find redfish. Always pay close attention to the birds location and any sort of bait movement. These are important signs to help locate fish.
The fly fishing has been relatively good this week. Throughout the winter, smaller flies and accurate presentations will be the key. The best producers of the week have been the Bruja Crab(my recent favorite), a gold or black tinsel Toad, or any crab/slider pattern should also work.
Frank D. & his friend from Maine joined me for a two day charter this week fishing on Friday and Saturday and had a great time catching redfish on plastics and live shrimp. Marc and his friend from Texas also fished with me on Monday and caught several trout and redfish with the Gulp Alive Shrimp! All fish were released to hopefully fight again!!
