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Lake Tarpon - January 25th, 2004
supplied by: Tarpon Tom's Bait and Tackle FISHING: Good
The bass began the shallow migration and are staging in 4-8 feet of water. Live Wild shiners have been the best way to find and catch them. On Jan. 10 Jay Mcclinton landed a 10-3 lb bass on a half day trip with me. Most trips have been producing ten to twenthy bass from 2-4 pounds with a chance at a big bass. If fishing by your self look for submerged grass in 4-8 feet and let a shiner tell you if the fish are there. Crappie fishing on the lake remains spotty, numbers have been low but the fish that are being caught are big slabs. In saltwater Trout remains the active fish reports are up to 50 a day on shrimp and or jigs in and around the Anclote river warm water discharge and the spoil islands. Rootbeer and candy corn have been the good jig colors.
Naples - Backcountry - January 22nd, 2004
supplied by: Leland Flyfishing Outfitters FISHING: Good
Southwest Florida guide Capt Rick Featherstone reports the surrounding grass flats there have been good trout action on red and white Clouser minnows. In and along the Sanibel blue fish have been showing up as well as some great ladyfish action on chartreuse and white Clousers. In addition Capt Rick reports the bull reds have shown up in great numbers. He is still experimenting with fly lines and flies to find the right combination.
Flies: Red and white and White on white Clouser’s and Deceiver’s
Pensacola Bay - January 5th, 2004
supplied by: Leland Flyfishing Outfitters FISHING: Fair
Northwest Florida guide Capt Bob Quarles reports the bull reds continue to hang around but are day to day. Water temperature is dropping which means the fish are heading for deeper holes. So don't forget the sinking line!
Tampa Bay - December 10th, 2003
supplied by: Capt. Fred Kremer FISHING: Excellent
Go Deep
With the colder weather here in west-central Florida (well, at least it’s cold to us!), fish will be on the move to find more comfortable water. Along the coast, this means they’ll be moving to deeper water in the residential canals. This deeper water retains its temperature much longer than the shallow flats we have been fishing up until now. That’s not to say there won’t be fish on the flats as the sun gets higher and warms the shallows later in the day, though. If you are bent on fishing the flats, stay in bed a bit longer, as there’s no need to be out there as the sun comes up.
Also, the runoff from the power plants in the Tampa Bay area will be magnets for many of our fish. Jacks, cobia, trout, and pompano are the main ones you can expect to find in this warm water runoff. The flats surrounding this warm water flow will, naturally, be a great spot too.
Before the latest cold front to come our way, we had great success with trout and Spanish mackerel in the shallows. Big number catches were the norm, and it seemed that just about any plastic lure put in the water was working. Jigs were producing the best for me, and any whitish jig body was a hot ticket. If the fish weren’t biting with the typical yo-yo jig fishing technique, I’d just have the anglers reel them straight in with no rod action at all, just swimming the jig back to the boat. This works great too. I think too many anglers give jigs way too much action with violent rod jerks. Subtle seems to be the better.
When fishing the deeper water of the residential canals, just letting a DOA shrimp imitation run with the tidal current really produces. It’s best not to give it any action, just let it swing around in the current near the docks and rip rap. I’ve also had success with hard body minnow type baits, slowly trolling them, at times, up and down the canals. These can also be cast to the docks or sea walls and retrieved in an erratic motion. I like the Bomber Long A’s and Rapalas in silver sides and black backs. I think this resembles a finger mullet, one of their favorites.
Fishing the canals is also a favorite when the winter wind blows, making fishing in unprotected areas too cold for most. The houses break the wind and make it much more comfortable.
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