By: Capt. Dave Stephens
We have already been having some fronts make it down to us and bringing some windier weather, and also cooler than normal. Normally when this happens it can cause our fish to move around more. You may find that areas that usually should be holding fish are not. This may be due to the fact that those fish have moved closer to areas that they are comfortable being at during the winter months. The one species of fish that will be making the biggest move will be our snook. When water temps dip below 70 degrees these guys run for cover. When the threat of a major front approaches, they will migrate to areas that have deep water access. For the anglers that don’t know, snook are a tropical fish. If are water drops below the 60-degree mark for 24 hours, we could have a major fish kill. The positive is, we have a fishery that does very well when these fronts pass through. Trout is one of our fisheries that does well when our water temps dip down to the point that other fish stop feeding. They might not be in the same areas that you have had success during the warmer months. They also seek out areas that has deep water access such as creeks, and residential canals they will hold good numbers of fish. You might have to spend some time looking for these guys, but the rewards will be worth it.
Cooler weather does not necessarily mean that Charlotte Harbor shuts down. It just means that you have to change up your approach to our fishery. We have fish that I will discuss in future columns. Fish such as Sheepshead just to let the folks from the north know, these are not the same fish that swim in the great lakes. These striped guys are actually very good eating, and put up a great fight also. The cooler water should have the pompano also moving in from the beaches, it’s another great winter fish that is way over looked. We are very fortunate to live in a very diverse area when it comes to our fishery. No matter what Mother Nature throws at us, we can adjust and have great fishing. As we approach winter we will discuss different species, and ways to target them.
If you would like to experience some of South Florida’s best fishing give me a call or send me an email.
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Capt. Dave Stephens
www.backbayxtremes.com
941-916-5769