Fish tend to school together as water temperatures drop, so you can catch a large number of them in the same spot. Also, cold weather tends to pull them out of the shallow water and send them looking for deeper water, usually in creeks and canals with muddy bottoms and docks.
Their metabolism slows, so they eat less food and are willing to take smaller lures and baits. Because of their sluggish metabolism, the fish slow down, so make your presentation unhurried and accurate. Iâve found that with smaller greenbacks, a very slow deliberate reel seems to trigger more strikes.
There are plenty of fish to catch during the Winter months–all you have to do is go fishing. This time of year, we get big jack crevalle, blue fish, mackerel, sheepshead, snapper, orange mouth grunts and the list goes on. Just put on your jacket, get your rod and reel and head out for a fun day on Tampa Bay.
Incoming or outgoing tides and a topwater lure produce awesome trout strikes on a calm early morning flat. Of course, the old standby, a live shrimp under a popping cork, always results in fish. If youâre looking for some nice trout action, donât forget to check out grass and rock bottoms with some artificial jerk baits. Many times, youâd be surprised at the results.
As cooler weather approaches, the waters begin clearing. This triggers some fairly decent sight fishing for the much sought-after redfish. Low tides and clear water make sight fishing reds a shallow water anglers dream. Weâre also catching reds in mullet schools using cut, live bait and also artificial lures. You can also expect some exciting strikes when pitching soft plastics or top water lures around the mangroves on high incoming tides. Winter patterns also include pitching shrimp and artificial lures around deep water residential docks.
The cooler temps should push cobia into the warm water runoffs of local power plants. Be certain to adhere to the restricted areas. Donât forget to check the shallow water beach edges adjacent to the runoffs, because cobia like migrating to and from the warm water along the shorelines.
If youâre looking for sheepshead, try checking around bridges, oyster bars and deep-water docks. Use mussels, fiddlers (if you can find them), small black rock crabs, shrimp or oysters. Remember, you can scrape the oyster covered pilings as chum to get them going.