Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2020 i Florida Sportsman

The age has sort of drifted by when fishermen ached to see their names in the record books. But there’s one mark I dearly want yet: Spotted seatrout, all-tackle. On some days, mainly in spring and early summer, my mind’s eye conjures out of the Indian River Lagoon a silver monster with fantastic canines. The big ones (you’ve seen ’em, yes?) seem to shake off their spots as they age. Maybe they don’t need the camo to hide any longer. They are predators eating predators, to me resembling not alligators but vampire salmon. I’ve weighed fish like this—including a near-13-pounder caught by my friend Ed Zyak, a Jensen Beach guide. I’ve caught a few yardsticks myself, too. The elusive all-tackle record? Swimming in my imagination, an obsession. I was a…

Moving water creates the biggest challenge to presenting your fly. If you’ve fished a mountain trout stream, you know this. Making your dry fly, nymph or streamer go with the flow in a natural manner is the key to fooling fish. Tidal current in salt water calls for this, too. You can’t just chuck it out there and hope for the best. Ambush-feeding saltwater fish come first to mind. REACH OUT I learned long ago how challenging narrow windows are while fly fishing backcountry waters of the Ten Thousand Islands. Snook in the mangroves take refuge very tight to the roots, well under the canopy of the branches. They always feed best on moving water. A fly caster has to tuck a fly as close in as possible to get…

Baits, lures and flies that work in clear water work in muds, but it wouldn’t hurt to add some enticement where the water is especially cloudy. Try tipping jigs with shrimp or a bait strip, or use a scented, synthetic bait tail. Add rattle chambers to plastic-tail jigs. Use plugs, topwater or suspending, that have sound chambers. Try darker colors that contrast well with the white, muddy water. In stingray muds, skimmer jigs, soft-plastic jerkbaits rigged weedless, and suspending plugs are ideal. With the exception of bonefish and permit, most fish will take a weedless spoon. My favorite has long been a black Johnson’s weedless spoon. Depending on the species over the ray, shrimp, crab and small baitfish flies all work. As far as lure weight or fly sink rate…

From Snook to Sailfish Snook season reopens Feb. 1 on the Atlantic coast and remains open till April 30. These are great gamefish which take a variety of natural baits and artificial lures. They jump, make long runs and test any angler’s abilities with light tackle. And of course, slot size fish (28 to 32 inches) are delicious. Snook make seasonal moves seeking food, shelter and comfortable water temperature. As the water temperatures drop, snook move inland into deep canals, harbors and other sheltered waters that are less susceptible to sudden chills. Sea walls and bridges are good places to fish, as they hold some heat from the sun and radiate it back into the water, resulting in a few degrees of warmer water. Baitfish will also look for that…

Solid Advice for Sheepshead and More February sees the peak of the winter sheepshead season in Southwest Florida. Plenty of sheepshead are taken on shrimp, but if your bait shop has fiddler crabs, you’ll find that they’re usually a better choice, especially for larger fish. ICW docks, bridge pilings, piers, canal rip-rap and pretty much anywhere along the coast where there’s something hard enough to sprout a crop of barnacles will hold sheepshead. A week of balmy weather can turn on the flats fishing for pompano, bonnethead sharks and catch-and-release trout. The venerable popping cork/shrimp rig is hard to beat on the flats, though the trout you’ll take on small topwater baits will probably run bigger. Prolonged bouts of chilly winter weather will push trout and pompano into deeper water…

Southernmost Shad Catch Anglers’ Attention American shad surely draw a lot of attention hereabouts from early January through mid-March. These 1 ½- to 3-pound saltwater migrants move by the thousands up the St. Johns River for their annual spawn. The roe is a delicacy, but for the most part shad are seldom eaten, because of their bony flesh. It’s their dogged aerial fight that draws anglers, not to mention the challenges in trying to figure out their changing moods and whereabouts. The St. Johns shad can be tough to track. They may be hugging the bottom or circling up on gambusia minnows near the surface, or they may be in one spot today and gone tomorrow. A slow-moving sinking fly or miniature dart draws a few one day, while another…

All About Timing February in the Panhandle can be interesting. Some years we have lots of sunny skies and warm days. Other years we have snow. The best part about our region is regardless of the weather conditions there is always an opportunity for the Florida sportsman. If the weather cooperates, offshore fishing for amberjack and tunas can be epic. Inshore, the backwaters can be an absolute blast with redfish, trout, sheepshead, and even bass and freshwater catfish. For the hunters in our region February is a top month to get out and experience the rut. Keep an eye on the weather—even in February, things can get hairy, especially offshore, and small windows with incoming east winds are a bad idea. Offshore fishing this time of year can be awesome.…

“My sons are growing up to harvest their own wild meat and do their part for our resources.” My grandfather, along with three of his friends, purchased a plot of land in Lake Port, Florida, on Lake Okeechobee, back in late 1920s. He was an avid Florida sportsman himself. He enjoyed fishing and wingshooting as much as any of us do today. He was a pilot as well and they would fly from West Palm Beach and land their plane on SR 78 back in the days before the levee. Little would he know that he inspired three generations of Lake Okeechobee duck hunters. I feel so fortunate to have grown up with this property and our time spent on the lake is never taken for granted. For any duck…

To the untrained eye it’s a hodge-podge of pine and scrub palm, fronted by bankside mangroves that compete for space with cattails backed by intermittently flooded prairies. But Ochopee is fishy for sure, a waypoint to a dedicated contingent of light tackle anglers. Southwest Florida’s marshes, where the salt content varies according to rainfall and tide, play a vital role in maintaining the health of the greater Everglades. Just ask the wading birds—or Katy Hendee. Katy, a Ft. Lauderdale realtor and inveterate outdoorswoman, fishes out this way a good bit, where an abundance of small baitfish and matrix of creeks attracts both fresh and saltwater gamefish. Included are snook, tarpon, jacks and redfish: species referred to as “euryhaline.” These can make the transition from salt to fresh. Largemouth bass, bluegills…

On the Trail of Tripletail Delicious tripletail can be caught year-round in the 10,000 Islands region, but winter is perhaps the most productive season. Why? Think back to the mid-October opening of stone crab season. Miles of trap buoys were placed from just outside Big Marco Pass north to Naples, and then on the south side of Coon Key another large stretch of buoys was dropped offshore. These buoys attract algae, which fuels a mini-ecosystem, which in turn attracts the tripletail. The longer the buoys are in the water, the more debris accumulates on them and it seems that February is enough time for them to get “dirty.” The buoys are generally set in rows fairly close to each other. You can simply “run” a line of buoys under outboard…

Inshore Fishing’s Hot and Cold Winter temperatures in West Central Florida can vary considerably depending on cold fronts, their timing and severity. Water depth and the sun’s exposure to shallow water can be factors for inshore fish, depending on the time of day and the bottom makeup. Deep water acts as an insulator from chilling winds. Look for skinny water fish (reds, trout, snook and the like) to drop off into channels or deep holes on the coldest of nights, but as morning turns into a sunny day, the shallows with dark bottoms heat quickly causing fish to seek these spots for comfort. Ultimately, as water temperatures rise, so do fish’s appetites. Offshore, with gag grouper season closed December 31, many anglers will focus on red grouper. Be mindful there’s…

It’s Your Month, Take It Well, if it were up to me, we’d have two Mays and two Octobers and there would be no August and no February. That’s probably because giant largemouths and speckled perch are not really my thing. It seems the month I dread is the very same month trophy bass hunters live for. If we have a few days of warmer weather, shiner sales in the Rodman Reservoir area will probably be by reservation only. The big mamas are scouting places to spawn, and they just can’t resist eating one more big shiner before they get down to business. If you dream of a double-digit bass, this may well be your month. For stacking up numbers of speckled perch, the second half of February is hard…

TACKLE: Spinning tackle with light braided line, light fluorocarbon leader, white or yellow-crappie jigs or small Rapalas. Flies are excellent here, too: tan craft-fur streamers tied on No. 2 or 4 hooks. AIRBOATS, SWAMP BUGGIES: Get up-close and personal with gators and other Everglades critters at Wooten’s Everglades, 32330 Tamiami Trail East, www. wootenseverglades.com, (239) 695-2781. FOOD: I’m typically content to ingest freshly made sandwiches from the Subway. The one in question sits on the southwest corner of the intersection of Highway 29 and the Trail. For a tempting menu of authentic Glades fare, try Joanie’s Blue Crab Cafe, 39395 Tamiami Trail East. SKEETERS: Yes and no. Mainly a summer concern. Back when I guided, I’d take a light-blue shirt (some say bugs avoid this color), spray it with Avon…

From our home base in Gainesville, in north central Florida, we enjoy the flexibility to scoot over to the Gulf to fish any number of unique venues. Towing an aluminum skiff with an F-25 Yamaha (kayaks or canoes, some trips), we pick our boat ramps based on favorable wind direction, tidal prediction and water quality. For instance, Steinhatchee’s inshore fishing can be slow during summer, with tons of floating grass and freshwater runoff. At the same time, Cedar Key, might offer emerald water with negligible floating grass. But I’m getting ahead of myself. After spending 22 years exploring this stretch of coast, we’ve learned to recognize the seasonal changes. The following is a birds-eye view of fishing from the communities of Cedar Key, Shired Island (pronounced “share-ed”), Suwannee River, Horseshoe…

Stingrays commonly cruise and feed into the tide just as gamefish do, particularly in strong current. Fish on rays are aggressive but the shallower it is, the more wary they become, so don’t crowd them by poling or electric motoring too close. You might spook the ray, and then it’s game over. Cast from as far away as possible. Upon hooking up, stop the boat immediately, especially if the wind is at your back or the current is carrying you toward the ray. The ray may keep on doing its thing, though might flush momentarily if your hooked fish slugs it out over its back. Other fish may hang around after you hook up, or rejoin the ray a distance away. Land your fish and move into position for a…

Snappers, Mackerels and More on the Shallow Reefs It’s all about bobbing and weaving with the weather in February, as cold fronts continue to push on all the way down to the Florida Keys. They can make things sporty most of the time and downright dangerous on others. Knowing where to hide and how to take advantage of the fair weather between fronts will have a significant impact on your success or failure. When these fronts arrive, the wind will be pushing from the north and clocking around to the northeast after a day or so. This is the weather pattern for most of the winter months and in order to stay in calmer waters we fish the Atlantic side. That is one of the many reasons why the Florida…

Sails Call As most of us know, February is one of the coldest months of the year. With fronts consistently rolling through, windows of opportunity can be small, especially for the bluewater angler. If Mother Nature allows you to make a run out deep, chances are the sailfish bite will be good. Baits such as pilchards and sardines may be hard to come by. Keep a few large sabiki rigs in your box, like the R&R Blue Runner Sabiki, and if all else fails, drop these down on structure in 30 to 50 feet for blue runners. These make for a great, hearty bait and are typically plentiful when others aren’t. Temperature breaks, rips, weedlines—sailfish traverse them all. These features move daily, some days in shallow, some out deep. Start…

Think Shallow Tailing redfish are not a common sight on the Big Bend. But there’s a better than average chance of seeing some, if you play the weather, your location, the tide and the sun’s position right. Seagrasses thin in winter and baitfish almost disappear from the flats. Redfish forage for their meals, and the flats offer options, especially when tides get low and warmed by the sun. Critters like shrimp and small crabs concentrate themselves among the remaining blades of grass making them easy targets. Those baits have few options to escape feeding reds, especially those “rooting,” nose and mouth down—and tails up. That said, tide is important not only to the fish, but to you, the angler. Access is important and if you come to the party by…

Lakes in Prime Form In Northwest Florida it’s great that even during one of the colder months of the year, the fishing can be outstanding. Crappie fishing definitely speeds up, especially on Lakes Seminole and Talquin. Even though Lake Talquin (10,000 acres) is only a third the size of Lake Seminole (37,500 acres), the crappie in Talquin get to be huge. The Florida/ Talquin record is 3.83 pounds. The 10-inch minimum size limit has no doubt contributed to the overall size increase on Lake Talquin crappie. Lake Seminole can be described as a “grass lake” while Lake Talquin is widely known as a “timber lake” because the trees were cut down and left when the reservoir was created in the late twenties. All of the downed timber and stumps created…

Fishing’s Grand in the Caymans The tropics are flush with fish this month, with billfish and wahoo leading the charge. The Pacific side of Central America will be visited by many Florida anglers on the hunt for marlin and sailfish, and wahoo are darn near everywhere. The wanderlust-afflicted angler need only settle on a destination, and the February wahoo will likely accommodate. On the other hand, like Florida, much of our tropics deal with fairly snotty weather this month, which makes Grand Cayman a reasonable option. Being a smaller island (roughly 12 miles wide by 8 miles deep), with a reef circling the entire island, there is a chance you can find a lee. Captain Jonathan Arch, who runs Slack ‘Em Charters on Grand Cayman, thinks this 360-degree feature is…