Redfish bite holds strong in cold weather
Island fishers targeting redfish are being rewarded with above-average numbers of fish caught in a day’s worth of sport fishing.
If you’ve noticed, the past few weeks we’ve been hearing about daily catches of redfish ranging from 30 to 40 fish. Well, the bite is still going strong and to get in on this action, you need only to target docks and canals with deep water. Most of the reds are small, but there are almost always keeper-size fish mixed in the school.
Live shrimp is the dominant bait for this time of year. Make sure you take enough with you so you don’t run out. A good quantity is 8 to 10 dozen for a half-day of fishing for two people. If you have a few left, save them for the next day. With cold-water temperatures like we’ve been having, you can keep shrimp alive in a Flo-Troll bucket for a few days.
As for rigging, try some 20-pound fluorocarbon with a 1/0 live-bait hook and a No. 2 split shot. Cast this rig baited with a live shrimp under your favorite dock and hang on tight.
Capt. Wayne Genthner of Wolfmouth Charters says he’s still catching good numbers of redfish in canals and along the mangrove edges of Sarasota Bay. “Most of them are shorties, but we’re also catching some over-slot fish, too,” Genthner says.
Genthner is using live shrimp or Berkeley Gulp shrimp on a jig head to entice the feisty cold-weather redfish.
Other encounters included species such as sheepshead, spotted sea trout and even some nice catch-and-release snook. “Fishing the docks for redfish has resulted in snook up to 30 inches,” Genthner says. “And we’re catching big sheepies in the same areas as well.”
Fishing for trout in Sarasota Bay is beginning to heat up. Genthner is catching trout up to 20 inches on the deeper grass flats. “Look for the sandy patches,” he says. “That’s where the trout are.”
Capt. Warren Girle says his charters are catching redfish in upper Sarasota Bay using live shrimp as well as artificials. “The redfish bite this week is better than last week,” Girle says, “and last week was a great bite.”
Fishing canals and docks with deeper water has been the routine for finding cold-water redfish for Girle. While fishing redfish, Girle also is reeling up some black drum and sheepshead up to 5 pounds.
Girle is also targeting spotted sea trout in the flats of Sarasota Bay. His bait of choice is a Mister Twister Exude Dart in the golden-bream color. “Most fish are in the slot,” Girle says, “but we’ve been catching some up to 24 inches.” In closing, Girle says his charters are catching a few snook as by-catch.
Dave Sork on the Anna Maria City Pier says fishers there looking for flounder and sheepshead could stand a good chance of catching a few. “The sheepshead bite hasn’t really turned on full throttle yet, but there are still some good-size sheepies being caught,” Sork says. Shrimp, sand fleas and fiddler crabs are good offerings for the convict-patterned fish, but tubeworms are by far the best. For fishers targeting flounder, most catches have occurred while bottom fishing live shrimp around the edges of the pier.
Jonny Keyes at Island Discount Tackle reports fishers are catching spotted sea trout on the local grass flats and in the canals of Key Royale. Live shrimp or Berkeley Gulp shrimp are the bait of choice for these yellow-mouthed predators. “The best bite has been on the incoming tide,” Keyes says.
Flounder are being caught in any areas where there is structure surrounded by sandy or muddy bottom. “The Mirrolure soft shad has been a good producer for flounder,” Keyes says. “They’re also hitting on Gulp shrimp.”
Using sand fleas for bait while fishing just off the beaches is resulting in good catches of whiting and black drum. “They’re also starting to catch sheepshead on the nearshore reefs and structure off the beach,” Keyes says.
Capt. Larry McGuire of Show Me The Fish Charters reports catching big amberjack, lots of mangrove snapper, some yellowtail, lane and vermillion snappers, plus lots of reef fish, including porgies, sea bass and triggerfish.
McGuire is fishing areas that don’t usually have as many grouper and American red snapper, but he reports plentiful catches everywhere he’s fishing. Before releasing them, he takes some quick photos of the trophies. McGuire likes to tell his customers, “If you don’t have a photo of your catch, it may be just a fish story.”
McGuire says to look for snapper and amberjacks starting out at 100 feet of water and for the “biggest and the baddest amberjacks” go out to the springs and wrecks past depths of 155 feet.
McGuire says large live baits are working best along with butterfly jigs. “Sardines are working great for the snapper and reef fish,” he adds.
Capt. Mark Howard of SumoTime Fishing Charters reports some of the best action of the year, with clients landing redfish on almost every cast. “The redfish were chewing hard on live shrimp,” Howard says. “One client from Canada went thru six-dozen shrimp in a four-hour period.” In addition to redfish, his clients were landing speckled trout, sheephead, black drum and ladyfish. Howard suggests fishing the deepwater docks where the pilings have a lot of oyster build up and barnacles. Howard predicts that with all the redfish being caught this winter, there will be an excellent spring redfish bite.
Looking forward, the tides will be good for the week as the full moon approaches. “Moving water is key to angling success, and the moon phase is a catalyst for tidal movement,” Howard says. “Try and match the lunar periods for fish catching optimization.”
Send fishing reports to fish@islander.org.