By Capt Roan zumFelde
February Fishing Certainly can be Boom or Bust depending on the weather in SWFL. On the high note, bass fishing no matter where you go should be excellent. JoGene Holaway says the Tournaments are in full swing and they typically are won with bedding fish pitching creature baits. Okeechobee fishing should be excellent but low waters will be something to watch out for. This is the month most freshwater fisherman are targeting crappie and bass. Check the weather and plan your trips accordingly.
Lake Okeechobee bass fishing, weather permitting, should be seeing a good number of spawning fish on both the new moon and full moon in February. Even if we have cooler than normal conditions it should not affect this too much. Bass are bass and they will want to make babies this month, especially if the weather turns spring-like early. There should be continued success for the crappie fisherman using small jigs or Missouri minnows (also called fat head minnows) under small corks. I would expect low water conditions on the lake to be in affect, so be very careful running around at high speeds; I have seen many lower units and transoms ripped off boats. If the lake gets down to extra low levels then the fly fishing in the Rim Canal should get very good and really concentrate some bass and bluegills. This should hold true for the River also. If the weather is warm then small poppers will be great, if not you might have to use small wooley buggers or other small weighted flies to get down a little. Highly suggest any fly you throw to have a weed guard on it.
Lake Trafford should still be seeing great success for the crappie anglers and the same type of rigs and bait apply from the previous paragraph. Trafford Marine should have plenty of bait on hand. If we get some warm weather in February the topwater bite for bass should get started on the lake. They will want to move out of cover and to the shallower edges, searching for food and building for the spawn, so they will be hungry. I like to throw yellow poppers on this lake, not sure why but they seem to work the best for me; we have plenty at the shop.
For the Everglades Canals this will probably be the most up and down month for fishing. I would expect pretty good bass action both on top and underneath. The cichlids will mostly be dormant and this will lead to more bluegill and bass on the line. Water will be dropping so there should be more fish in the main canals and out of the marshes. Not my favorite month to fish the canals but you can still catch some nice fish if you fish slower than normal and downsize your lures or flies. Tiny crankbaits, run parallel to the drop off edge, usually out from the main bank, about five feet work very well and with the cooler water you will probably have less worries about taking off cichlids.
Come visit Mike and me at Mike’s Bait house and Indian Pass Outfitters on Danford Street, next to Bayview Park in Naples and we can talk fishing. We carry a full line of tackle including: fly fishing needs and both saltwater and freshwater gear, food, drink, and bait. Thanks and good fishing. Roan z