Capt. Rick Davidson (grassflats2@yahoo.com), Editor
Well, the weather outside was frightening, with one of the coldest Januarys I can remember, but there were a lot of fish caught in January. The trout were plentiful in the river and after four or five days of nighttime lows in the '20s, they made it all the way up to the Steinhatchee Landing. Most of the action was near the mouth of the river, from Marker 26 out to the mouth. Even when the forecast was calling for 20 knots, which seemed like every day, especially on the weekends, there were lots of boats in the river and lots of fish being caught. I took Capt. Tommy Thompson and an old fishing buddy, Mike Peyton out for a river trip on the first weekend of the month. We had intended to run out and fish some creek mouths, but had to wait for the tide so we started fishing south of the channel with suspending lures. We quickly had doubles and triples and ended up with around 60 trout in the 2.5 hours we fished. Not only that, but all were legal fish. We reached our limits in about an hour and released all the fish we caught after that. On other days we caught fish up by the power lines, just downriver from the Landings. And occasionally we tried to find fish outside the river, but they had moved to deeper water. At one point the water temperature was as low as I've ever seen it--43-degrees. That day we struggled, but by the end of the month, which marks the beginning of the closed month for trout, the water temp was up to near 60-degrees. While the trout fishing was very active, the redfish bite was challenging at best. Derek, everyone's favorite Sea Hag worker, caught some redfish along the marsh lines in the river before the truly bitter cold settled in.
Most of the redfish were bull reds, which were heavily populating the grouper spots offshore. We had some great reports of 30 pound redfish being taken while bottom fishing on grouper spots. And when our offshore captains could get out, there were some great catches of gag and red grouper.
February Fishing Forecast
Well, Houston, we have a problem. The thing is that February is a closed month for speckled trout, and grouper season is closed February and March. But that is no reason to not go fishing. We've got a lot of options left. Inshore, the redfish will begin moving back to their nearshore structure. Fish outgoing tides near sandbars with cut bait or live shrimp, or fish slowly with gold spoons in the same areas. One of the most exciting options is the annual sheepshead spawn. I've taken the liberty of providing a link to a sheepshead article written by my friend and fellow Gainesville Offshore Fishing Club member, Russ Roy at http://www.gofc.us/gofc_sheepshead_00.htm#primer Our fish will be found around the rockpiles at the Steinhatchee Reef, about nine miles west of the mouth of the river. The males have already been caught on the reef, and the numbers will increase. Sometime between mid-February and March the much larger females will arrive. When fishing in clear water, you can see the schools of fish swimming in circles over the rockpiles. At times sheepies behave like grouper; you know they are there, but they just aren't eating. Then they will turn on with a vengeance. I like to use a redfish rig, such as a 4000-size spinning reel with 15 pound test braided line. While there may be many arguments about braided versus monofilament line for many types of fishing, there is no real argument when fishing for sheepshead. The bite is very soft, and you need the sensitivity of braid to better feel the very soft bite of a sheepshead. A standard fishfinder rig, with enough weight to keep the bait down on the bottom, is needed, and this is usually an egg sinker in the ½ to 1 oz. sizes. A fluorocarbon leader will help. Many experienced fisherman use a simple ½ to ¾ oz. jighead and simply bait it with your bait of choice--and that will be either live shrimp or fiddler crabs. Sheepies aren't very interested in artificial, even scented plastics. We expect to have both live shrimp and fiddler crabs available in the Ship's Store at the Sea Hag Marina when the fishing turns hot. Spend a lot of time getting anchored so you can keep your baits over the structure--but try a few throws into the sand around the structure, because this can provide some excellent flounder. To find the most up-to-date info about sheepshead on the reef, call the marina and we'll let you know what's up. Offshore, there is a bumper crop of black seabass and Florida snapper, which will make many great meals. A combo sheepshead trip and some addition bottom fishing for these reef fish will provide you lots of action and lots of filets as well. Finally, speaking of fiddler crabs, make sure you have the Second Annual Steinhatchee Fiddler Crab Festival on your calendar, this year February 13th and 14th . There is a fundraising redfish spots-only tournament on Sunday the 14th . There will be a parade, lots of great crafts for sale, raffles and lots of great food. See you there!
Now, for some guide reports:
Capt. Tommy Thompson
(352) 284-1763
www.flanaturecoast.com/capttommy
This Florida Cracker is really tired of the bitter cold weather (see photos above!). But as of the last few days of January, the water has started to warm up and I suspect we'll start seeing some nice redfish on the shallow flats. And if the wind lays down, we'll have some good sight fishing and/or fly fishing days ahead. Don't expect that there will be a morning 'bite' but sunny afternoons should take the chill off the water--and the reds. So let's go fishing!
My award-winning fishing guide book, The Saltwater Angler's Guide To Florida's Big Bend and Emerald Coast, might be a help to you if you spend lots of time at Steinhatchee (or anywhere from Chassahowitzka to Pensacola). It's got LOTS of secrets, tips and tricks, so don't forget to pick up a copy at the Sea Hag Ship's Store the next time you're at the marina. You can learn more about the book at www.saltwateranglersguide.com
If you're interested in a 'catch-and-release hunting for big fish' trip, please give me a call or check out my Web site, www.flanaturecoast.com/capttommy . And if you're interested in some more in-depth information about fishing Florida's Big Bend, take a look at my weekly Fishing4Cast on the Florida Sportsman Magazine Web site at http://www.floridasportsman.com/4cast/bb, the Florida Sportsman Big Bend Action Spotter column in each month's issue, or read my posts as the Gainesville Fishing Examiner.
Captain Steve Hart, www.legallimitscharters.com (352) 498-0299
January was again a month of unpredictable weather but also provided some great fishing if you had the opportunity to take advantage of the few nice days. Grouper continued to bite well, and most of my fishing was in 60 foot plus range, using both live and frozen bait with lots of activity all day between catching and releasing short grouper and beautiful red snapper. However, by the end of the day we always ended up with a nice catch. As you know all grouper will be closed during February and March, and will re-open on April 1. As we go into the next two months remember that you can still have a great day of fishing and some of the best eating with a fun day of seabass, Florida snapper and soon sheepshead fishing. I look forward to seeing you on the water soon.
Capt. Brian Smith www.bigbendcharters.com
February is the bleakest month for fishing, but it is not because the fishing is bleak. It is bleak due to biologically unsound fisheries management. Trout are closed the entire month. Why? It must be because they are spawning. Wrong answer. February is a month the trout aren't spawning. April is the peak spawning time and you can take egg-laden fish. Take one fish and kill a million. February is closed because fisheries managers asked guides which month was their slowest time. They said 'February' and it was closed. Makes perfect sense if you're trying to manage people not fish. February is also closed for red snapper because we're seeing an abundance of red snapper; more than anyone can remember in recent history. Did that make sense? Brrrrrrrr-duh nope. February and March are closed for grouper because winter weather churns up the water so often that fishable days are few and far between. Wait a minute; that was Mother Nature's agenda. And, that management plan went into effect what year? Oh right, I remember now…since the beginning of time. But she does give us a few gorgeous blue bird days to release cabin fever, but we don't get to take advantage of them, since the government closed that cabin door. I still haven't figured that one out yet.
On a happy note, Florida snapper and big sea bass are abundant, easy and fun to catch and great table fare. Shhhhh. Don't tell the feds. If they get wind of this, they'll label them endangered and poisonous. The patch reefs close to shore are loaded with these delectable fish. When you apply a rod and reel combo normally used for trout, you put the fun in the fish. No need to endure cabin fever, go to sea for bass.
Editor's Note: Capt Brian Smith will be speaking at the February meeting of the Gainesville Offshore Fishing Club on the 23rd. This will be fun! For details, logon to www.gofc.us
