It’s great to be writing about fishing again! We have been through a lot but still march on to bring back stability to our communities. The impact to the Gulf and its tributaries is another story. Islands and reefs have changed and the grass flats took a beating, but these natural upheavals sometimes result in some interesting changes. While working on hurricane recovery, we were on the beach near the Lanark Reef flats and noticed something amazing. Within two weeks after the storm, when the tide was out, green sprouts began to pop out where there had only been black detritus. Since then the turtle grass has come back stronger than ever. While fishing the Ballast Cove area at Dog Island I noticed shoal and manatee grass in full growth with mullet stacked at the mouth of the creeks. You know that reds are sure to be with them, feeding on the smaller finger mullet and sure enough, we caught some nice slot fish on gold spoons. That just goes to show you, our area is back! Nature always redeems itself and comes around better in the long run.
I was talking to a very knowledgeable fisherman the other day about the life cycles of flounder. He gave me a lot of insight on their spawning habits. Seems they move offshore in the winter and return to the inshore habitats in March. One of the best places to fish them is along the shoreline. Flounder are top predators and this time of year they are on the feed. Try a jig tipped with shrimp moved slowly along the edges of oyster bars either from a boat or simply wading. They can’t resist a live bull minnow or mud minnow fished with a one ounce sinker above a short run of monofilament leader ending in a Kahle hook. These hooks seem to work better on flounder since they set in the corner of the mouth. Flounder have a jaw structure that is more membrane then meat and sometimes the bite is a grab instead of a swallow. This is why the fish frequently spits the hook just as you are about to get’m in the net.
The Black Sea Bass bite is what’s going on offshore, if you can get past the gags. With the water warming, our other migrating fish are sure to show up. Watch for kings as the water temperature gets in the 70’s; that will mean cobia are not far behind. Some of the wrecks and artificial reefs may be in different conditions since the storm, so hunt around, the locations may have scattered. Dog Island Reef seems to be unchanged and this is a great location to fish in the early spring. Spanish mackerel show up early around here as well as spotted sea trout. The flats can hold good fish for both the shore angler and the boater. Fishing is only going to get better so gear up and go out!
Good luck out there and be safe.
CAPT. CHESTER REESE
Natural World Charters
(850) 228-9060
www.naturalworldcharters.com