Capt. Lee Noga
We been waiting and February is the month where the runs are less sporadic. We enter a consistent more productivity pattern. January was a bust in Central Florida compared to last year where Titusville was cast netting white shrimp all day long starting in November ending in May. We are not seeing the white shrimp yet but the waters are cooling off and I suspect we will see them in our mix. Edgewater is producing a handful in early January and Oak Hill has given up a few to maybe a half a gallon. BUT, the sizes are better than this time last season. We are cycling thru a cold water fish & bait kill due to sudden drop in the water temperature. Many snook and tarpon have died in this arctic blast and it is illegal to harvest any fish out of season even when in distress near shore. Titusville is a bust at Haulover Canal, Haulover and Titusville Pier as of early January. This may sound distressing, but trust me at the time of this read the conditions will be much improved and more intel to digest. Mather’s Bridge and Eau Gallie South-side relief continues to disappoint the hardcore warriors that go and and endure the elements. The love of the sport and the shrimping fever rising folks are getting real anxious and frustrated things are not happening now. One cold snap does not make a shrimp run. We are still 30 days from a full pull realistically speaking. The die-hards and locals are going to go no matter what, and bless them for sharing their experiences in our FB intel forum. Where is the shrimp going off? In Miami on Rickenbacker Bridge and Key Biscayne and Tavernier Creek in Islamorada. They are getting full pulls from Miami to Islamorada. This is what I want to see, and it goes to the aftermath of Hurricane Irma’s effects on our State. We in Central Florida kick off after the South kicks off their season. The fact that we are seeing shrimp in Central Florida going back to November be re-assured we are not going to get skunked. Hurricane Irma is NOT going to shut us down just because she came in and destroyed our grounds chewing up all the docks for miles. We locals are still nervous running the channel edge due to sailboats/debris that sunk and are not marked. Personally, I sail the channel since the hurricane because of major dock devastation in the popular shrimping grounds. The fish kill from early January will reduce the number of shrimp killed in the food chain. This means more shrimp survive to harvested by anglers. This is just natures way. For daily reports and changing intel, join our Facebook® group, “Florida Shrimping Academy- Tips & Tricks. My face time seminars will be announced in this forum, or Capt Lee Noga FB page.
Capt. Lee Noga
Academy of shrimping
www.leenoga.com