by Capt. Rodney Raffield
Hi Coastal Anglers, Capt. Rodney with EBE here with a report on what has been going on down here in the beautiful Everglades National Park. Fishing this past month has continued to be some of the best I have seen in many years. As you guys know I am an artificial lure specialist and it is my passion to share with others techniques to help them become more successful anglers on their on fishing adventures. We are in a winter pattern with lots of species such as trout, snapper, grouper, bluefish, mackerel, and sheephead dropping into the deep holes. My favorite way to extract these tasty critters is by jigging Micro baits off the bottom in a side sweeping method. You would be shocked at how many snappers and sheepshead we catch on soft plastic lures. We are catching seatrout and silvertrout in high numbers, with limits being caught on most of my trips plus many more undersized fish. There have been lots of snook in the backcountry, but most of these fish are running on the small side, but as you can see from the photos monsters do exist! Redfish are also around but they also are running on the small side. Hot lures continue to be Mr. Wiffelures and Zman paddletails, but with down sized versions working best this time of year. Tarpon should start to show up through March and April, as things start to warm up. We will target these fish with soft plastics, as well as hard lures. So get out there and put that favorite lure to work, have confidence, and it will happen. Remember my friends it is much more than just a fishing trip, it is an EXPERIENCE.
