As Anna Maria Island anglers experienced some of the coldest days of the winter, they found themselves searching for excuses not to have to do the less meaningful things in life, like mow the lawn, or other projects that typically get pushed under the rug, so they can go fishing.
Intense cold fronts wear on anglers because we just don’t know what else to do, nor do we care to do much else.
Sure, there’s always the bars, but that gets expensive, not to mention the hangovers. And you always seem to get a better welcome upon arriving home smelling like fish as opposed to arriving home reeking of booze. Of course, for the folks who drink and fish at the same time, this is OK for you, but not for the rest of us.
On a positive note, cold fronts provide great opportunities to get reacquainted with the nuances of everyday life, like spending time with family, taking the dog for a walk or simply staying inside to binge-watch the latest sitcom streaming on TV.
Even with all of these things going on, you’re still thinking about fishing, right?
How many days of this cold can you stand before you find yourself standing in the garage staring at your tackle and wishing you were on the water again?
Eventually, unable to withstand the withdrawals, you resort to the next best thing.
You shop for more fishing tackle.
And the skilled addict or angler knows that they can shoot two birds with one stone by simply gathering up the family and saying, “Let’s all go to Bass Pro Shops for the day.”
The kids will love it, and you’ll get to spend some quality time together — at least until you get there and you become mesmerized by the supply of fishing and hunting gear, forgetting you even brought the family with you.
Since we’re in Florida — the cold fronts are typically brief, lasting no more than several days to a week — before getting back to normal, with days in the mid-70s, with plenty of sunshine and plenty of fishing. Then the cold days are forgotten — until the next front arrives.
On my Just Reel charters, I’m spending time watching the weather, looking for a window of opportunity and then I’m back to fishing.
Just before the front, I was finding plenty of early-season sheepshead around the wrecks in the Gulf and along the Gulf beaches, with many needing to be measured to see if they were keepers. Key West grunts, mangrove snapper and flounder were rounding out the bite.
Inshore fishing in canals was producing sheepshead, as well as redfish and black drum.
Capt. David White says he’s finding action inshore, targeting fish with shrimp as bait. On the sunny days, he says sheepshead are being caught with some black drum and redfish mixed in.
Drifting and jigging over deep flats is yielding pompano for White’s charters, as well as usual suspects — ladyfish, bluefish and jack crevalle.
Lastly, White is managing to hook up with a snook here and there, despite the cold weather.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.