Happy Fishing! Check out where the fishing are biting in Big Bend waters

APALACHEE BAY

Otto Hough (Facebook @myhometownfishing) says, ” As good as it was for anglers this past weekend on into midweek, it seems Ma Nature has a slightly different weather pattern in store for us across the Big Bend these next three days. Over the next few mornings, cold early morning air temps with the likelihood of blustery winds out of the northwest will present challenges and aggravations to enjoyable fishing in the rivers, all the while stirring up truly some rough waters on the Big Pond through Saturday, spilling over into  first part of Sunday. Sunday afternoon, with the wind diminishing as it clocks around from the southeast will offer up the best conditions this weekend.

"With true wintertime water temps hovering near sixty degrees or less, it's the river holes, cuts and creek drains that have been offering up the most trout and reds for anglers targeting those species. While lively shrimp have been a well liked offering in the holes, a Z-man NED rig worked slowly in the creek mouth drains during the falling tides has been generating the attention of some quality reds along with bonus flounder. The trout have been getting snookered with old school 52M11 Mirrolures as well as the 18MR HeavyDines. In the Aucilla and Pinhook rivers, on the edges of the rockier drops, the Yo-zuri L1 Minnow is producing quite well too!

"Tidal flows this coming weekend will be nothing like the monster negative lows that came right on the heels of the past full moon. It's now a "between the moons" run of tides occurring over the weekend. However, those stout northwest winds in the NWS Marine Forecast for Friday and Saturday will certainly push out more water during the falling tide into midday lows than the tide charts reflect. Hopefully winds will diminish enough while swinging around from the southeast Sunday to make for much more enjoyable fishing conditions, albeit, it'll still be layer up time for angler comfort.

"Given the predicted cold and increased winds, be smart, don't tempt Ma Nature. Layer up, have all on board wear an auto-inflatable while keeping it in the rivers, at least till Sunday until conditions improve along the coast. Boat both wisely and safely! Just FISH!"

ST GEORGE ISLAND

Captain Russ Knapp (850-653-5072) reports, “Here we go with another weekend cold front roaring in and making for some not so good conditions on Friday and Saturday.

"The forecast as of Wednesday has a Small Craft Advisory till noon on Saturday with winds N 20 to 25 laying down in the afternoon to 15 to 20 knots, seas running 5 to 7 ft and the bay rough.  Sunday is your best bet with winds starting Est,  swinging around to SE at 10 knots, the seas running 2ft but a high temperature of only 58 degrees. It's winter anglers, you have to know when to hold them, when to fold them and be sure to recheck weather before you cast off.

'Tides at the Cut this weekend are interesting with Saturday featuring a .7 high at 8 AM followed by a 12:30 low of .3 ft. and ending with a 1.3 high at 7:30 PM, while Sundays first high is .7 ft. at 10AM followed by a 1PM low of .6 ft. ending with a 1.3 ft. high at 8 p.m. If you go fishing in the bay this weekend, Capt. Dan Fortunas  (850 980 0101) suggests take advantage of the slow water movement in the Cut and try fishing for Sheepsheads right up against the rocks with Fiddler Crabs if you can find them and fresh Shrimp if you can't.

"The Redfish are still hanging around the Cut and would love for you offer them a Finger Mullet fished on a slow drift.  You should also find hungry Sheepsheads and Black Drum lurking around the bridge pilings and in the deep cuts on the ends of the oyster bars.

"We haven't had any recent reports but, you should be able to catch most everything in the deep holes and creek mouths of East Bay if you look around a bit and bring some fresh Shrimp for bait.  Offshore, Capt. Clint Taylor (850 370 6631) is fishing for Red Grouper on live bottom with the key being having large live baits, so bring those Sabiki’s along and tip them with a tiny bit of Squid for best results.

"Capt. Clint says the reefs and wrecks are holding good numbers of non-Red Snappers and Black Sea Bass but you can plan on having issues with aggressive hungry Red Snappers. Tip of the week -- lead/acid battery's hate to lose their charge and if you let them go flat you will pay for it one way or the other so spend a little bit of that Christmas money and buy a Maintenance battery charger for each battery.  "Maintenance battery chargers are not expensive and will keep your batteries happy and fully charged all winter and avoid the heartbreak of dead batteries on the first day you want to go fishing in the Spring.

MEXICO BEACH

Captain Kevin Lanier of KC Sportfishing charters (850 933 8804) reports, January has rolled in, and fishing changes have occurred. Check your regulations to see what you can keep, new bag limits, and size limits. As always, this time of year offers good inshore fishing and offshore can be good if the weather cooperates.

Redfish and trout are attacking baits in the bay and in the inter coastal in our area. While fishing one area of the intercoastal we caught a largemouth bass of all things. Shrimp and spoons are the best choice for these fish. Look for deeper channels in the bay and watch the flats early in the day as the water warms with the sun.

Offshore, Vermillion Snapper and Porgies are plentiful. Use 2 hook chicken rigs tipped with squid to load your cooler. This time of year, you do not have to travel far to catch nice fish. Avoid using large live baits and try not to catch and release a lot of Red Snapper. Move on if you find pockets. If you do catch a fish that is in a closed season, be gentle with it, use a descending device to release it. The more cautious and careful we are the more it will help our argument for more fish and more days  Good Luck!

BIG BEND KAYAK REPORT

Salt strong coach Matt Lanier (Matt@saltstrong.com) tells us, “I hope everyone had a fantastic New Years!  The cold temps and high winds has subsided a bit and are much more manageable, making for some great fishing to go with this warming temperature trend.  There were some solid fish caught this past week!

With the hard cold front that we just experienced, there was a sad number of fish kill from fish that just couldn’t take the temps.  Unfortunately, the bigger fish, like gator trout, are the ones most affected, as the smaller ones stay in numbers and retreat to deeper waters.

But with that being said, the fish that are still around, are hungrier than ever as they are trying to recover calories they lost while trying to keep warm during the cold conditions.  So it is super important to find the 90/10 zone!

The trout that are schooled up, are still found in their usual haunts around structure and ledges and depth changes.  Be sure to use jig heads heavy enough to get you down in the deeper part of the water column, where those fish are at; and now that we are in the colder part of the year, exposed jig heads will be optimal, as there is less grass to get hung up in.

It can often be helpful to downsize the size of your bait in the colder months, going to a smaller presentation, to entice the bite from those more lethargic fish.  The fish have a slower metabolism in the winter and will not use calories to chase a bait down like they will in the warmer months.  Therefore, fishing smaller baits, on the bottom, is a great wintertime tactic.

With the warming trend, redfish can still be found roaming the flats in some of those late fall habits, cruising in creek mouths and oyster beds during the ringing tide, and in the soft current seams in depth changes on the falling tide.

Productive lures have been ranging from paddletails to shrimp imitations and hard baits like the MR17, but the biggest factor is warmth.  It the sun is shining your lure choice can be a bit more aggressive and you can fish faster, but if it is a dark and cloudy day, try to go something smaller, and more subtle to illicit those strikes from fish that are slower to react.

Topwater can still produce great in the morning and even into the afternoon on those calm days, so be sure to throw those favorite topwater lures (Moonwalker, Skitter Walk, One Knockers) with that enticing walk-the-dog action for those big fish looking for an easy meal.

If you find yourself on the water and fishing in a spot where you haven’t gotten a bite for the last 15 minutes… it’s time to move.  Keep looking for the 90/10 zone where those fish are holding.  Don’t waste time in unproductive areas. The fish are moving and so should you!

To get the kids on some fish quickly, a live shrimp or GULP! under a popping cork around creek mouths and grass lines is a solid producer of fish. And the best part is you never know what you’ll catch because everything eats shrimp…  EVEN ME!

If you plan on getting out this weekend, always make sure you check (and double check) your gear and the weather. But most importantly… STAY SAFE & HAVE FUN!

LAKE SEMINOLE

The Crappie fishing on Lake Seminole has been excellent to start the new year! We have been catching some BIG Crappie! The Crappie have been coming out of 20 feet of water. Jigs and Minnows have been equally as productive. I had a fantastic morning with Judi Petty and 10 year old Aedan from Crawfordville Fl. For a Lake Seminole Fishing Adventure for Bass or Crappie, email me at lakeseminolefishingadventures@gmail.com and follow me on Instagram and Facebook @capt.paultyrefishinge

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Happy Fishing! Check out where the fish are biting in Big Bend waters