Where are the fish biting? Check out this weekend's Big Bend fishing report

Mary Elizabeth, 2, aka M.E. along with her dad, Colby Hough, proudly displaying her "first" bream caught all by herself on a breambuster from her Uncle Josh's Georgia 
 farm pond.
Mary Elizabeth, 2, aka M.E. along with her dad, Colby Hough, proudly displaying her "first" bream caught all by herself on a breambuster from her Uncle Josh's Georgia farm pond.

Typical start to 2023. Few days of good weather, cold front, a little rain, more wind repeat.

Area lakes and rivers are giving up some really good catches of crappie, bass and catfish. Along the gulf, rivers and tributaries are stuffed with redfish, seatrout and flounder. When weather cooperates, success on the water should follow.

Tournament season is here. North Florida Gulf Fishing Club will feature it’s first event of the year out of St Marks, Florida. With low entry fees and a family friendly atmosphere it’s a great way to test your skills against other local anglers.

Fishing tournaments have been popular for several decades. It’s not just for grumpy old men anymore. Almost everyone is welcome. Men, women and children.

Fishing tournaments have been popular for several decades. It’s a great way to bring people together like Panacea’s Rock The Dock tournament. There are actually separate divisions for the latter. More and more we’re seeing female teams competing with males. More on this to come.

Weekend forecast is typical for this time of year. Of course during the week winds were low, temperatures were high and fish bit like crazy. If you’re new to fishing get used to it. Been this way for me since 1970.

APALACHEE BAY

Otto Hough (Facebook @myhometownfishing) says, ”After a frosty start to the past weekend, slowly but surely, fishing conditions improved steadily into midweek with daytime air temps tickling the 80° mark, helping to bump up the skinny water temps a few degrees each afternoon. That little bit of extra warmth seemed to get the trout into a somewhat more aggressive feeding mode. MirroDine 17MRs and slow walked One Knockers were productive during the periods of afternoon warmth and sunshine over the hard, dark bottomed creek mouth flats. Sea fog from temperature inversions through midweek mornings made slow working softbaits and live shrimp the best offerings in the river holes during the morning rising tides into midday.

However, as nice as Mother Nature was this week, she's throwing anglers a nasty curveball. Sadly, going into these next three days, if the current NWS Marine Forecast holds true, Friday appears to be shaping up as a very windy, rained out fishing day, followed closely by stiff northeast winds Saturday that are going to create some very tough fishing conditions. Though the sun will be shining, stout northeast winds are going to make an already negative pre-full moon low tide far, far lower than tidal charts reflect. Skinny water close the hill each of these next few days, but especially Saturday, will be pushed way the heck out by those stout northeast winds, then extremely slow returning, if the water comes back much at all given highly elevated winds. Go ahead and scratch any thoughts of fishing outside for black sea bass.

To start Saturday, if you can hide from the wind in the river, target those deeper river holes, bend cuts and major creek drains on the low tides as those will likely be the only spots having any appreciable amount of water during the early morning hours. Offer up a lively shrimp or softbait imitation sweetened with a dab of shrimp flavored ProCure. Expect to see lots of "real" Florida exposed both Friday and Saturday if dropping in the hole early. The rivers will be mere rivelts.

Outside, with smooth seas during the first half of the week, a handful of anglers ventured out in the early morning fog, finding success locating lots of quality black sea bass, aka rock bass off the shallow water rock piles outside of the St. Marks Refuge buoy line, especially to the southeast. Jigging was the preferred method used by all three groups that were targeting the tasty species. These little fearsome fightrs are an absolute blast to catch on light to medium light spinning rods. Sadly, the predicted stiff northeast winds will pretty much nix any chance for enjoyable outside fishing over the weekend. Definitely do not venture too far outside the mouth of any of the rivers in a smaller boat. A possible NWS Small Craft Exercise Caution alert will likely be posted by Friday through Saturday afternoon.

If heading to a coastal creek mouth, be cautious running early these next few mornings along the nearshore coastline as there won't be much water. Lots of spots that are normally okay to run during periods of full high water will now have many partially submerged rocks and bars barely exposed. None of these are the friends of any lower unit. Boat safely while wearing an auto-inflatable PFD. Hypothermia is ever present danger this time of year. Be a smart boater. Have some fun catching 'em up in the one of the rivers this weekend under what should be some bright skies after Friday rains clear, albeit very windy out of the northeast Saturday.  Just FISH!

Local angler London Bush, did a little night fishing a couple weekends ago. Chilly temperatures were no match for her as she holds up another beautiful redfish.
Local angler London Bush, did a little night fishing a couple weekends ago. Chilly temperatures were no match for her as she holds up another beautiful redfish.

ST GEORGE ISLAND

Captain Russ Knapp (850-653-5072) reports, “Capt. Dan Fortunas (850 980 0101) suggests stop by your friendly local bait and tackle shop and pick some frozen Finger Mullet for the Reds and some Fiddler Crabs or fresh Shrimp for the Sheepshead. Capt. Dan has had good results with cutting the Finger Mullet on a diagonal line which gets  more scent into the water, while peeling the Shrimp makes them more interesting to the Sheepshead.

Offshore, Capt. Clint Taylor (850 370 6631) says live bottom is your best bet with Mangrove Snapper close in  40 to 50ft of water while Red Grouper will be out in the 100ft range. Large live baits are the ticket for the Grouper while half Spanish Sardines will bring the Mangroves to your hook.

Tip of the week -- Now is the time to get your boat into the shop for any needed maintenance and repairs. Waiting for Spring is only going to get you at the end of even longer lines.

MEXICO BEACH

Captain Kevin Lanier of KC Sportfishing charters (850 933 8804) reports,” January is solidly upon and so far, it has been one of the coldest we have seen in several years here in the Florida Panhandle. As always happens this time of year we are dodging cold fronts and wind but there is some good fishing going on right now.

Inshore the larger Red Fish are back with the bites coming off the jetty and sea walls. Look for these fish on the flats because the water will warm there faster. Live Shrimp fish with just a small split shot weight or fished below a popping cork are your best options. Always keep a gold spoon close by to help entice the bite as well. Do not be surprised if a large Trout crushes the bait as well.

Offshore is money when you can get out. Plenty of Vermillion Snapper to eat and plenty of Red Snapper to release. I encourage you not to fish live baits this time of year due to the large amount of Red Snapper around. Jigs or squid will fill a fish box for sure. This pattern will continue until early march so, if you can stand the cold weather you should catch plenty of fish.

Aedan Petty, 10, from Crawfordville, holds up a nice Crappie (speckled perch), caught while fishing with Capt. Paul Tyre.
Aedan Petty, 10, from Crawfordville, holds up a nice Crappie (speckled perch), caught while fishing with Capt. Paul Tyre.

BIG BEND KAYAK REPORT

Salt strong coach Matt Lanier (Matt@saltstrong.com) tells us, “It seems like Ma Nature always knows how to throw a curve ball into a weekend!  This weekend may be breezy and rainy but if you can make it out, the fishing has been great as of late!

With the change in water temps we will have after this rain, the fish will should feed pretty well if you find the right spot. Typically, finding wind protection will be important, as the calmer areas will tend to have warmer water.

The trout that are schooled up, are still found in their usual haunts around structure and ledges and depth changes. You can still find solid numbers in the deeper holes in creeks, and on the ledges of the flats. 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.

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

Productive lures range have been ranging from paddletails to shrimp imitations and hard baits (like the FRED Paddletail, Power Prawn, or 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.The Florida Redfish Series Season Opener was this past Saturday, January 28th in Stienhatchee, FL at the Sea Hag Marina. The fishing was tough but there were some solid fish measured at the weigh in! There was a record turnout of 37 kayaks and about 60 boats!  Huge thanks to everyone that showed up! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the Captains Meeting for Stop #2 in Panama City at The Panama City Marina! Be sure to go to flredfishseries.com for more information on this event and others upcoming.

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 creeks, creek mouths, and even 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!

For an easy way to find the 90/10 zone, go to www.saltstrong.com/recipe for some tips on finding the fish in your area!

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

Tallahassee London Bush caught this beautiful Snook while visiting her father in Crystal River over Christmas break. Fish was caught off a private dock at night.
Tallahassee London Bush caught this beautiful Snook while visiting her father in Crystal River over Christmas break. Fish was caught off a private dock at night.

LAKE SEMINOLE

The Bass fishing on Lake Seminole has been excellent to start the new year! As we close out January and move into February, the Bass will transition into their pre-spawn areas and the big Bass will be feeding up for the upcoming spawn!

The Crappie fishing has also been very good this month and we been catching BIG ones as we move into February the Crappie fishing will get even better!

For an exciting Lake Seminole Fishing Adventure for Bass and or Crappie, email us @lakeseminolefishingadventures@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram @capt.paultyrefishing and Facebook @capt.paultyrefishing

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Where are the fish biting? Check out this weekend's Big Bend report