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Updated 1/16/2012
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Awesome Winter
Redfish Action
As I am writing this, conditions have just started to slowly
improve after the passing of another strong cold front. With
this last front bringing no rain and with charters already
booked, I chose to fish right through it. On what I would have
thought to be the worst possible day to fish, I ended up having
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productive trip and - even more importantly -happy clients at
the end of the day. Although it was far from the ideal conditions it was
great to be just about the only boat out fishing and to send my clients
home with the fresh fish dinner they were hoping for.
We pulled out from the dock mid morning. The air temperature was in the
high 40s with strong north winds gusting over 20 mph. My main concern
was keeping my clients dry and comfortable on the way to the first stop.
On days like this you do not want to get anyone wet as they will be
miserable and cold for the rest of the day.
Leaving St. James City, I made the short run riding the big following
sea to the south, directly into the” Ding” Darling Refuge. During the
winter months the refuge has always been my go-to place on the coldest,
nastiest windy days. It is close to home and offers a little bit of
everything from narrow mangrove channels to deep shorelines, holes and
flats. With plenty of sheltered water you can easily spend a whole day
fishing inside its protective mangroves.
With the tide already low and still falling, I knew we could find some
fish laid up in the deeper holes holes and channels located well in the
back. After anchoring in the first spot it did not take long to catch a
few smaller trout and then a 21- inch flounder while slow bouncing the
bottom with live shrimp. We stayed in this first creek for about an
hour, moving around hitting my favorite deeper spots and catching a nice
mixed bag of fish including a few redfish, sheepshead, trout and
flounder.
After a while, the bite slowed and it was time to go. I headed back onto
the bay and made the short move to the next creek mouth. During the
half-day trip we worked all the major creeks that feed water in and out
of the refuge. Without making any long runs, we caught lots of fish
along with six keeper flounder up to 21 inches and a few nice big
sheepshead. Although we caught a dozen or so redfish not one of them
made the 18-inch slot.
The real surprise of the day to me was a 25- inch snook, I would have
totally bet against catching any snook at all with my laser thermometer
reading a 56-degree surface water temperature. Although it was far from
the most pleasant of conditions, no one was uncomfortable and everyone
had a great time.
During winter conditions like this is very easy to pick up the phone and
cancel a fishing trip. Although we did not have a stellar day we caught
good numbers of fish and kept the rods bent all trip.
On tough days like this it’s really more about the feeling of
accomplishment of getting it done when all the odds and Mother Nature
are against you.
Click the links below to view copies of my other recent reports.
12-26-2011 -
01-02-2012 -
01-09-2012
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