Happy fishing! Check out this weekend's Big Bend fishing report
Curve ball caught us looking. Quick change in the weather pattern over the weekend holiday. Besides the damaging high winds, the cool down was a welcome change to the 80’s in December.
This didn’t last for long. Weekend forecast has daytime highs right back in the low to mid 70’s. Enjoy it while you can, after the weekend looks like Mr Winter has arrived!
Freshwater fishermen have been having a time. Great reports of largemouth bass coming in from lakes Talquin and Seminole. Crappie are being caught too. Limits and size, living up to expectations for the world famous lakes.
Those warm, sunny days had the flats on fire. That will change after this weekend with cooler seasonal patterns on the way. We can finally keep those winter coats on the back of the chair instead of the closet.
Although most fish prefer the warmer waters of the spring fed rivers, there will still be some nice fish that linger near shell beds and rocks on the flats. Most of the rock grass that had been holding fish so nice is now gone. Too bad, that was fun.
As many saltwater fishermen look to load the boat with river limits of sea trout, sheepshead and redfish, a favorite live bait becomes scares. Shrimp. Who doesn’t love shrimp! Besides being a favorite of millions of humans, fish love them too. Be sure and call ahead to your favorite local bait and tackle store and check for availability before stopping.
Age plays a big role in the ability to tolerate cold, windy days. I know when I was younger, made no difference. If I had the time, I was going fishing.
Not so much anymore. I’ve learned too much time in elements like that, I lose another half day the next, trying to recover. Bones ache, sinuses kick in and it’s no longer enjoyable fighting wind.
These are the times I do basic equipment maintenance. Here’s a tip for prioritizing boat, rod, reel and tackle.
Write down what issues affected your fishing day most. Was it dead cranking battery a couple times? Wind knots in your spool when there’s no wind? Or perhaps you keep losing fish on a particular bait. When you look back over the prior fishing season it will all come back. Most of us are budget minded and may need to invest a little more. Be it a GPS or shallow water anchor, once you have it in your boat it’s a game changer on the water.
Until next week, Be safe have fun and ALWAYS wear a life jacket while boating.
APALACHEE BAY
Otto Hough (myhometownfishing.com) says,” I've got to say the closing days of 2021, in spite of heavy sea fog conditions at year end, the warm days provided some fine opportunities for catching both inside, for the trout and reds as well as outside as gag grouper season came to a close on December 31st. No worries about the gags though, as gag grouper in our four county Big Bend Zone; Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson and Taylor counties will reopen April 1st, much to my delight and that of other small boat anglers too.
"However, it's now time to shift gears to focus on the wintertime trout and reds. This past cold front that arrived the first of the week brought a strong blast of cold overnight temps along with the a week long stretch of colder nights. Coupled that with another cold front arriving at end of this week, the target zones for trout and reds will definitely be changing through January-February, on into early March. As the skinny water temps steadily dropped this week from upper 60s into the low 60s, expect to find increasing numbers of fish returning to their deep wintertime haunts in search of a degree or two of warmth.
"With this second blast of winter arriving Friday, begin working those Paul Brown Fat Boys, slow sinking Mirrolures, 18MR Heavy Dines along with softbaits on jigheads in the deeper holes and tributary creek drains. Plus, it never hurts to toss an AquaDream spoon working it with a slow steady retrieve through the holes. I like the chartreuse color spoons this time of year in the darker river/creek water. For anglers fishing from kayaks, Evans and Tide creeks in Levy Bay offer up some quality wintertime fishing opportunities for trout, reds and flounder. Both are easy paddles from Levy Bay landing.
"Personally, I like to target river and creek trout and reds during the periods of falling water. This coming weekend, the tide will be falling out through all the morning hours. As that tide falls, those fish begin to congregate in the deepest water they can find, no longer spread out all over the river. As such, a technique I use often with the onset of cold water temps is slow trolling. My favorite lure to slow troll for trout and reds is the Bomber Long A in the gold/orange bellied pattern, though the bone color also produces well. My preferred trolling speed is 4.5 mph, but at a slightly slower speed if river water temps get down in the low 60s.
"Once fish have been located in a hole with the slow trolled plugs, I'll then ease back up above that spot to slow drift the hole while fan casting with a 18MR Heavy Dine or Z-man paddletail soft bait on a 1/4 ounce jighead, both having chartreuse in the color schemes. If the bite slows, it's back to slow trolling to hit another hole. Over the course of many years, lots of good producing holes in the St.Marks, Wakulla and Aucilla rivers have been located. When slow trolling, simply mark a productive hole on the GPS. It's a given over the years, the fish will be there each and every winter when the cold weather settles in during January and February.
"For those folks not comfortable fishing with artificials, it's now time to once again to soak a lively shrimp in the deep holes and cuts. Either working live shrimp on a Carolina style rig or tipped on a jighead, both will generate hungry takers. Given winds at times over the weekend may be elevated at times, take time to check current marine conditions over Apalachee Bay before heading out. Make sure to file a float plan with someone, plus wear an auto-inflatable PFD for safeties sake. Just FISH!"
KEATON BEACH
Captain Pat McGriff (onemorecast@gtcom.net) reports, “Trout were remarkable last week before this front. Water temps had made it to 73 degrees....simply unreal for New Years day etc. We had limits for the Garner party on Friday and the Nicely crew from Dowling Park on Saturday. Started this trip with how to hold and cast a spinning outfit...for all on board.
"Finished the day with 20 trout ( four anglers) 6 over 18 inches and a 21” trout to anchor the cooler.... only fished four hours. Well the Gulf water temp crashed to 56 degrees on Tuesday; then back up to 62 degrees, Wednesday but that didn’t help Billy Pillow and I much as we only brought in 4 trout caught on Paul Brown Devils ( Billy). So, I am hoping the water will warm back up and the trout will do the same."
ST GEORGE ISLAND
Captain Russ Knapp (850-653-5072) reports, “The cold front that came by Sunday night was accompanied by an intense lightning show and winds at 2 am steady at 50 mph and gusting to 55 mph at C Tower while at the SGI bridge winds hit 44 mph. This weekend we are going to be blessed with two cold fronts starting with the first front Thursday night and then followed by a stronger system Sunday night into Monday. Honestly anglers this looks like a good weekend to stay home and tend the fireplace or work on the honey-do list as winds are forecast to blow at 15 to 20 mph and seas running at 3 to 5 feet.
"For those of you that can't stay at home I really don't have any fresh information as nobody has been doing much fishing this week. Capt. Dan Fortunas (850-980-0101) says the water temperature is taking a serious nose dive and this is going to confuse the fish so you're just going to have to go looking for them. The Cut most likely is still going to hold some Redfish while the bridges and deep channel around the oyster bars should have Sheepshead cruising around looking for a meal. When the surf calms down a bit the surf fishing should be pretty good and can provide a good meal for you.
"Offshore, Capt. Clint Taylor (850 370 6631) notes that Red Grouper season has opened but as in the bay not many anglers have been out fishing so he doesn't have any reports for you. Capt. Clint suggests you take this time to get all your boats maintenance needs taken care of before the Spring rush causes major wait times.
"Tip of the week – You Tube has some great videos on Sheepshead fishing which are quite entertaining might well teach you some new tricks."
FRESHWATER
JR Mundinger reports, “Crappie have been biting well once found. With the warmer temperatures fish were scattered from one end of the lake to the other. Weekend weather change has them schooling back up. That will change again with the warmer weather. To stabilize the bite we’ll need a whole week or two of cooler weather. That’s ok if it doesn’t happen, jumping right into the spring spawn would be fine!"
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Happy fishing! Check out this weekend's Big Bend fishing report
