February is one of my least favorite months to fish because typically, it’s one of the coldest and windiest…not very enjoyable conditions. However, the trick is fishing around those cold fronts that tend to hit every so often and focus on the bright, bluebird sky days with lite winds and sunshine. These are the days you want to target for fishing. The sun warms up the water slightly and fish become active as their metabolisms increase and need to feed as much as possible before the next front.
If your days are limited and you cannot pick the sunny days and must fish during a front or right after, then focus your efforts on or near fresh water inflows like river deltas, intercoastal waterways or warm water discharges from industrial plants. This is where bait will congregate therefore predators will also be here. Live shrimp on a bottom rig will work great for trout and redfish. Heavier jigs in 3/8- to 1/2-ounce with a soft plastic shrimp bouncing on the bottom in these discharge areas will also work well.
This time of year can be good for finding the larger, bull reds swimming the beaches off Cape San Blas or in one of several local passes. Larger live baits, like croakers, finger mullet, or big live shrimp can be used on a bottom rig with 1- to 2-ounce sinker and a 4/0 VMC circle hook.
CAPT. JORDAN TODD
Saltwater Obsessions
850-227-6550