Winter Highlights

By Capt. Bill D’Antuono

The cold is here! I have always said winter is my favorite time to spearfish in Southwest Florida. I think I am telling myself the truth. It could it be that I am just trying to justify heading out into brisk temperatures and diving into cold water, going out in choppy seas and staying cold and wet the entire day. Let’s look into this a bit farther.

Some of the highlights for winter are cobia, mangrove snapper, gag grouper and amberjack. Unfortunately AJ and gag are now closed, but cobia and mangrove will be thick on the wrecks. Seasons changing move the fish around and keep things interesting offshore. Big mangrove snappers will be on just about any wreck. Don’t discredit the new artificial reefs which have been steadily holding nice fish, including all of the above mentioned.

I have recently been loving my open cell wetsuit. It keeps you much warmer during the cold days than a traditional closed cell wetsuit. Even a traditional 5mm wetsuit will do no justice compared to a 3mm open cell. It is a must that you wear a hood during these cold months.

Hook and line bottom fishing is also great right now. Red grouper will move in to shallower waters and the old spots you caught them on in summer should be holding them too. With red grouper I use a chicken rig with a 5/0 circle hook with squid or sardine for bait. Red grouper can’t resist a butterflied spot tail grunt or squirrelfish. If you don’t get a bite on that, it’s time to move spots!

Stay current with my latest catches on my Instagram page, @offshorenaples. I will be fishing throughout January and hoping for a great season! Tight lights and big fish.