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Trout Fishing May Benefit From Freeze
Fishermen – Trout Fishing May Benefit From Freeze
I know, I know. It seems rather odd that Trout fishing may be the benefit from this freeze. January saw the worst freeze in perhaps a century. Lots of snook died. It’s all been rather dreary and the winter continues. But there is some good news out there. With the freeze came a purging of algae and old dead grass from the flats. The cold cleared up the water as it always does when such frigid weather and overcast days prevent algal growth.
Florida Snook Need a Break from Cold Weather
By Sunday morning hundreds of snook had died in the canals of Anna Maria Island, Snead Island and the Bradenton Yacht Club in Palmetto.
Sand bream (mojarras) died today in the upper reaches of the Manatee River near Fort Hamer. With one more night of even colder weather and a hard wind gusting to 25 from the north, a lot more snook are sure to die.
Freeze of a Lifetime Threatens Florida Fauna
By G. B. Knowles
It’s been colder in Florida. The freezes in the early 1960s killed citrus groves en masse and decimated tropical animals like snook and manatees. It’s snowed more. In 1977, on January 17, my young cousin made a snowman in Tampa. It snowed in Miami that year and was the first recorded instance of snow in Bahamian history.
But there has never been a period of such prolonged cold in Florida. For two weeks the temperatures haven’t climbed out of the 50s and many of those nights saw lows in the 20s.
Possible snow flurries and the coldest weather yet is due for this weekend and into the first of next week. Temperatures are forecast to drop to 27 in Tampa, in the city, and that means frozen teens in the outlying country.
Where Has the Sport of Fishing Gone?
It alarms me that fishing appears to be abandoning the sporting element that once made this past time great. Maybe it is because we have too many fish or too many anglers because hunting has gone the opposite direction.
The men and women who stalk big game do so now with primitive bows and arrows, cameras and even paintball guns.They’ll be reduced to spears and slings before it’s done and the entire reason for it is to put sport back into the hunt by handicapping the modern practitioner. Fishing, on the other hand, seems to be moving the opposite direction.
We’ve all seen it or been a part of it. They advertise robotic fishing lures on television as a can’t fail technique. You and I realize this is a scam and doesn’t work. But that doesn’t keep Madison Avenue from probing the current “fish at any cost” way of thinking.
The Traveling Cooler.
Even with two sizable neighbors sitting on my suitcase, closing it was out of the question. Something had to stay behind. Shoes? Sure, I could go from four to two pair. Clothes? OK, lose the extra slacks, the shirts I probably won’t wear and the extra sweater. How about the hammock? Back in the box. Shorts? Shorts in Alaska? Back in the dresser. Cannons Marina cooler? Untouchable! It stays in the Samsonite.
Dog day doldrums? They don’t have to be. Savvy anglers know to change their strategies, tailoring their efforts to maximize comfort and opportunities.
[by: Guest Writer, Rusty Chinnis]
One of the prime times to fish during the “dog days” is at night or in the early morning hours before the sun crests the horizon. The myriad dock and bridge lights that illuminate the waterways from St Petersburg to Venice are prime targets. These areas hold schools of snook as well as trout, redfish and a host of other species.
Captain Nick Angelo of Land of Lakes fishes the areas from Saint Pete to Clearwater Beach. In these areas he targets a variety of fish including; snook, trout, redfish, tarpon, mangrove snapper, ladyfish, small grouper and bluefish. Although there aren’t as many snook as in areas to the south, the ones he does find are much bigger. There are usually plenty of redfish that average from rats (under slot) to over slot size. For less experienced saltwater fly fisherman, Angelo finds that trout fishing can provide hot action, sometimes nonstop, all night long. Angelo looks for lights near a pass on docks, bridge fenders, boats, or even the shadow lines created by street lights on the area bridges. He uses a 9 or 10 weight rod with a 9 foot section of 40 pound fluorocarbon. He prefers a strong incoming tide just after dark, around the full and new moons.
The same strategy will work in the waters around Anna Maria Island as well as south through Sarasota. In all areas, docks with a water depth in excess of six feet are best. Tidal flow is another indication of action. Lights on the up tide side of a structure are best, allowing you more latitude when making a presentation, preventing hang ups and allowing flies, lures and bait to swing to the fish naturally. With a little attention to detail, it’s possible to target some docks on the incoming tide, and others on the outgoing tide.
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