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Hernando County Fishing Report 2/15/06

 

Always Fishing Guide Service

Captain Frank Bourgeois
Always Fishing Guide Service
Serving: Spring Hill, Hernando County, Florida Lower Nature Coast
Office: 352-666-6234
Always Fishing Web Site

 

 

 

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

 


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