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Updated 1/11/10
Record Cold Is
Bad For Snook
Last week I only got out a few times due to the extreme
conditions. What was going to be a fully booked week of charters
turned into lots of cancelled trips. A few brave clients did
stick with the plan, wrapped up and had some pretty good days of
fishing.
Sheepshead, redfish and trout still ate well even though the
water was at 58 degrees. With even colder temperatures on the
way the next few mornings I fear a a big snook kill this year.
There are a lot of snook around right now but I have not been
fishing them at all. Snook with such cold water temperatures,
are in a hibernation mode and under what is called cold stress.
With season closed I don't even mess with them and am keeping my
fingers crossed that they make it through to fight another day.
Nothing is more depressing than to see snook killed by the
cold.. |
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Sheepshead fishing was the best thing going last week with fish
up to 5 pounds. Every mangrove spot we fished trying for redfish
produced sheepshead too. Fishing deeper channels in the five- to
six-range with bottom structure made for non-stop action on the striped
bait stealers. Once anglers got the hang of how sheepshead bite we
caught fish after fish. For bait we used pieces of shrimp double-hooked
on a 1/8 oz jig head with a #1 hook. On one trip this week we ended up
with 16 keepers.
With a limit of 15 sheepshead per angler, this really allows you to fill
a cooler. With all the tight regulations on other species, sheepshead is
one of the only options to bring lots of filets home for that
neighborhood fish fry. Sheepshead have to measure 12 inches to the fork
of the tail to be legal size but unless they are 14 inches plus there is
not really very much meat on them. The meat is firm and white but they
have a very large rib cage and sharp fins and should be handled with
care when fileting or even dehooking.
Sea trout fishing was feast or famine, week with either one after
another caught or none at all. During cold windy conditions I look for
deeper channels and basins that are out of the wind to hold these fish.
Cold snaps really move the trout off the shallow flats and into deeper
sand holes or channels. These channels can either be canals, canal
basins or deep creeks back in sheltered mangroves. The Chino Island
channel held lots of keeper size trout one day then none the next. When
the wind is out of the north west and it's sheltered it was good action
but when its switched to the northeast, it really turned off. Five- to
eight-foot ddeep channels in the "Ding" Darling Refuge also held lots of
trout this week with the majority coming right from the middle of the
channels.
We did find a few redfish, most on the small end of the slot. The big
red for the week only went 21 inches and was caught mixed in with the
rats. Fishing small narrow feeder creeks in the refuge on live shrimp
with the bait right on the bottom and tight to the mangroves was the
pattern that worked for the reds, as it will be in all winter long. When
you find these reds it's not unusual to pull 20-plus fish from one hole
but only one or two of the 20 will be keeper size. I love catching these
little reds as they make for non-stop action.
Hopefully this week conditions will warm back up to normal. Cold snaps
are a regular part of winter fishing but snook are just not used to such
extended cold periods. They are more affected by cold than any other
fish in our area. During extreme cold periods they will appear lethargic
and can be seen on the surface where the water may be warmer from the
heat of the sun. All fishing regulations still apply and these snook
cannot be harvested even if they are dying or dead. Enjoy seeing them
but leave them alone they are the future of our great local snook
fishery.
The FWC asks the public to report dead and dying fish to the Fish Kill
Hotline at 800-636-0511.
Click the links below to view copies of my other recent reports.
12-22-2009
- 12-28-2009
- 01-04-10
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