With water temperatures finally going up, a whole new world of fishing is opening up here on the West Coast of Florida. With the warmer water, the bait is here so the big fish are following. The Mackeral are here in huge numbers and hard to miss just about anywhere on the beach. Trout are finishing their spawn off shore and are moving back into the shallow water and Redfish are finally showing up in bigger numbers with bigger fish. Shrimp are working great for all the fish as well as white jigs and spoons. Keep your eyes out for Cobia and Kingfish as they should be here soon as well
Now that it is getting a little warmer, we are starting to see more Redfish show up in the shallow waters of the ICW. There are large numbers of “rat reds”, bottom of the slot or shorter and a few bigger fish mixed in. The winter time tides being as low as they are even at high tide are exposing a lot of “tailing fish” which means that as the Redfish move into the shallows to feed, their tails actually get exposed about the water. Be on the look out for them, approach them slowly and very quietly till you get in casting distance. You don’t need to hit the fish on the head with the bait. Cast past them and either very slowly move the bait back toward you or let it sit and the fish will find it. Again, patience is the key as with all winter time fishing. If you’re using artificial bait, any shrimp pattern moved slowly will work well.
With the colder water temperatures we have right now, there are several things that might help you catch more fish. First, the fish will move much slower because of the cold water so you need to remember to slow down the pace that you fish. Early in the day when the water is coldest, fish the deeper water and as the day goes on the fish will move into shallow water warmed by the sun. Live Shrimp or pinfish as well as artificial baits all work well. The water is also very clear so be sure to downsize the leader you use, 20lb leader works well for almost anything you will catch inshore right now. Be patient when the fish strike, they will sometimes “mouth” the bait at first and then will return to eat. Popping corks are very popular with live shrimp or shrimp imitations under them. Again, keep it slow by popping your cork with a short jerk and let the bait sit. The popping cork mimics the sound of a live shrimp snapping its tail, so the fish will hunt the noise down.
With the water having been so cold early on this winter, finding redfish has been a challenge. In the open water area’s you might be used to finding legal redfish, they have been replaced by “rat reds” which refers to fish being under the 18 inch bottom end of the slot. In order to find some of the bigger “keeper” fish, canal docks are your best bet, where the water is warmer. The warmer water keeps the bait around and thus, the bigger fish follow. Live shrimp free- lined or with a small weight, artificial soft plastics on a jig head or a small pinfish if you catch them, on a 3/0 circle hook, will work best.
Now that it is winter time here on the West Coast of Florida, Sea Trout are one of the most popular catches. There are a variety of baits that can be used this time of year, the most popular being live shrimp under a popping cork. Artificial baits also work extremely well whether using soft plastics on a jig head or under a popping cork or small hard plastic baits such as the Mirro-dine made by Mirro-lure. There are several soft plastic shrimp imitations out there and you will find “glow”, rootbeer or pink to work best for color. Since the water is cold, the fish are a little slow to move sometimes so remember to work the baits slowly, even pause as you reel them in. The fish will strike almost timidly so be patient before setting the hook or starting to reel. If the fish misses getting hooked on the first strike, they will often come back and hit the bait so let it sit if missed. Please check your Regulation Book as there are closures coming up that affect us here, size limits and number of fish you can keep, depending on the region you fish in. Good Luck and be patient!
