02/15/2006
Fishing Report
A certain little creature (the Groundhog) saw his
shadow and Mother Nature is trying to prove him right with six weeks
left of winter. The water temperatures are warming slowly but I can
see light at the end of the tunnel.
Reports of good size bluefish are heading our way,
and to me that means the start of Spring fishing. Usually I find
bluefish not to far from the large trout along with a great sport
fish called the Hound fish. I also look for the grouper to start
their shallow water migration, to eat and replace the body fat they
lost this winter. March is the magic month for me, and in the past
I have seen the beginning of great spring fishing start right around
this time. We have had a mild January, but the cold weather in February
is a plus, as it slows the movement of fish migrating North.
On the Nature Coast many fish just pass by heading
for there summer homes, so when the water warms slowly I believe
this keeps the fish in our area for a longer period of time. On some
recent trips offshore I found lots of short grouper in thirty to
forty foot of water, catching about twenty five undersize shorts
to one keeper grouper. The middle grounds are a sure way to catch
limits of keeper grouper when the water is cold as the water stays
at the same temperature more so than in shallow water. But this holds
some problems for smaller boats.
At this time of year the wind tends to blow a lot
offshore making it not safe to go there, unless you have the right
boat. A good friend of mine has the right boat. He runs a thirty
eight foot cabin fishing boat when the weather is good, but sometimes
the weather men are wrong! He has found himself in twelve foot waves
before, creating a boat ride toward home that took many hours of
traveling at five miles per hour. He told me the fishing was great
but not worth the ride. I own a new boat but the boat is twenty six
foot long, not thirty eight foot like my friend's boat, so I will
wait for summer before I venture out to the middle grounds.
There are more and more boats with the capabilities
to fish the middle grounds, but expect to pay a steep price to get
there; fuel prices makes everything more expensive. For those of
you that are fishing out of your own boat, maybe this will help:
If you catch one keeper grouper and continue to catch smaller grouper
try pulling your anchor and drifting for a while. Sometimes the bigger
fish are at the end of your chum stream waiting for an easy meal.
Look for offshore redfish madness. This time of year when the water
is cold, the Redfish move into the backwaters or very far out in
the more stable waters.
On the backwaters, the person with the boat that
will go shallow, like 4 inches of draft, will usually always win.
Now on the other hand, offshore redfish are usually in the breeding
mode. These fish are usually too big to bring home. but will give
you a fight you will not forget too soon. I have located many redfish
over 50 inches on the offshore reefs fishing for grouper. This time
of year is about the best time to catch bull reds but please be careful
not to hurt them as the fish are breeding and full of eggs. I know
of no one that can constantly catch deep water reds except when they
are extremely lucky.
Tight lines till next time
Captain Frank Bourgeois
Always Fishing Guide Service |