Cold snap gets the sea trout in a biting mood
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There’s nothing like a cold snap to finally get our resident sea trout schooled up and in a biting mood. After hearing folks complain about not getting much of a trout bite these past months, change is here.
The afternoon the cold front arrived, we caught trout on nearly every cast as we wind drifted grass flats in 2-4 feet of water. Drifting quietly, using the trolling motor sparingly only to correct course when the bite slowed, the fish could not resist small soft plastics on light jig heads. (DOA paddle tails in silver and gold combos and 1/8 to 3/8 oz. jigs). To really enjoy the trout bite, don’t over tackle. Ultra-light rods and 6 to 8-pound monofilament without a leader works just fine.
Always use a loop knot to tie a jig to your line to get the best action from your lure, especially with jigs. Loop knots that leave the tag or cut off end facing forward waste time as they collect grass on the retrieve. Using a rear facing, tag end knot, like the Canoe Man Loop Knot, will save the day. (Easy to tie, strong and the tag end faces rearward) (Go to YouTube for instructions)
“Ticking” the grass on the retrieve or retrieving slowly right above and through the grass brings the trout out for a bite when they aren’t really aggressive.
Trout love fly rods and when biting on top, a big popper will catch bigger trout with deeper fish eating weighted a minnows.
Trout, especially trophy-sized fish, are noise sensitive and a big lone gator, trophy hunting the flats for a big meal, is as wary as a Keys bonefish in 10 inches of water. Slamming lids, shuffling feet, rocking the boat and at times, during early morning quiet, even loud talking can send your Southwest Florida trout of a lifetime zipping off to another ZIP code.
Southwest Florida isn’t known for really big sea trout like the northern part of the state enjoys, where folks don’t get excited till the scale hits the 10-pound mark. Here in Southwest Florida, a 5 pounder is considered a “gator trout.”
The Florida state record for spotted sea trout stands at 17.44 lbs. caught at Ft. Pierce in 1995 where the state record for Spanish mackerel was also caught weighing in at an even 12 pounds.
Those records are for conventional tackle. The fly rod record is listed at 12.44 lbs. caught in Stuart back in 1994. With Spanish macs here and biting, our local fly anglers should give the current state fly record of 6.81 lbs. a go.
Winter’s here and bait store bait wells are filled with big shrimp. You simply can’t go wrong with an easy to see popping cork with a live kicking shrimp hanging below it, which could get eaten by anything that swims in these parts.
Work the floats by popping them or let them drift behind the boat and work for you as you cast soft plastics.
Rigging a choice shrimp on a jig head, casting and slowly hopping it across bottom all the way back to the boat can often work wonders.
Often your drift connects you with a school. Power pole down or anchor, but do it quietly and enjoy the fish.
In a small boat, canoe or kayak, carry a 6-foot piece of 1-inch PVC cut at an angle on one end and with a 1/4-inch hole drilled through the other end. Pass a light cord through the end and tie a knot to secure it from coming out of the hole. (You can get fancy and fill the first 6 inches with concrete) Jam it into the mud and tie off. Quick, quiet and $1,499.00 cheaper than a powered anchor and perfect for wind drifting.
Never handle a trout with dry hands. Bending down barbs reduces unnecessary death and injury to juvenile fish.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. Contact him at 239-282-9434 or captgeorget3@aol.com.