Wintertime Sight Fishing
Its the time of the year we all look forward too, cooler temperatures and some amazing sight fishing. The cold fronts have started trickling in and have been a little more consistent. All of the patterns are taking shape to set us up for a great winter season and spring. The redfish and black drum have already started to bunch up during the cooler temperatures and can be found tailing over the grass flats as the day warms up. The seagrass in the Mosquito Lagoon has made a huge rebound over the last few years with wide spread coverage over most of our flats and backcountry.
Just a quick recap for those that have not been here to fish in some time and for those that have not fished here at all yet. In 2010-11 we experienced some extremely cold conditions which was only the beginning of a decade long battle with with poor water quality, algae blooms, and near 100% seagrass loss. The algae blooms started to taper off in recent years allowing our seagrass to slowly make a come back. Aside from the grass recovery our redfish have been catch and release only now going on 3 years which has made a huge impact on the numbers and the size of the fish we are seeing on a daily basis. This estuary is one of a kind for redfish habitat as well as the other species we target and marine life in our area. We can only hope that it makes a full recover and becomes a destination fishery like it once was.
Last winter/spring was definitely one to remember. We had numerous schools of big redfish mixing with black drum schools. Most days these fish would tail really well offering great targets during the low light hours until the sun came up enough to sight fish them swimming. Aside from these schools we had plenty of fish in really shallow water in the 3-6lb range eating flies and artificial lures really well. Here are some images from last years season.
This time of year also offers opportunities during the annual shad run on the St. Johns River. Shad fishing can be super fun on light gear from 4wts-6wts. A day or morning on the St Johns is like stepping back in time taking in the old Florida feel that surprisingly still exists. The days can be split starting on the St. Johns targeting shad, then loading up the boat to head over to the Mosquito Lagoon to finish out the day chasing redfish. Its a great time of the year to mix it up.
The shad fishing usually kicks off by January and will last through March. Reach out ASAP if you are interested in dates for this coming winter/spring season as they are starting to fill up prior to tarpon season in the keys. Some dates dates are still available for tarpon season in Islamorada as well if interested.
Its been a while since doing my last post on my website or even emailed clients with updates. I can’t thank all of you enough for your continued support and trusting in me to be the guide you choose year after year. Looking forward to many more adventures with you all!