February is typically the coldest month of the year and can have some of the most unpredictable weather. One day it can be sunny and warm, the next can be windy and near freezing. Sudden drops in water temperature can send the fish off the flats and into deeper water. Most of the Lagoon, however, has very little deep water. The ICW channel provides the deepest water outside of Haulover Canal. Fishing the ledge between the spoil islands and the channel can be very productive during the cold spells. Moving closer to Ponce Inlet where the water is not as cold is another option.
Cold water temperatures do not mean no fish on the flats but the first few days of prolonged low temperatures usually mean the picking are slim in the skinny stuff. After the temperature stabilizes, the fish will return to the flats to feed. Since they are cold blooded creatures, they may seem a bit lethargic and you should definitely slow your retrieve. If things are not working on the flats, a lead headed jig with a shad tail bounced slowly along the bottom is the trick to locating the schools. Even depressions of a couple feet deeper than the surrounding flat can hold huge schools of redfish and trout on cold winter days.
Cool water temps mean big trout on the shallow flats. Sight fishing for these trophy fish requires extreme stealth and patience to put up with a lot of refusals. Even the best of casts can get ignored or cause the fish to flee leaving behind nothing but a cloud of mud. When targeting these fish, I like using the DOA shrimp for casting to fish I see, or a 5.5 inch CAL for blind casting across likely ambush spots. Big trout often hit a lure and make an immediate beeline for the boat making you think you lost them. Don’t be surprised to reel up the slack and find a fish nearly under your feet.
