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Fishing for sheepies in skinny water

Sitting here watching the wind blow listening to tornado warnings. With hurricane season in the rear-view, I thought the weather-related stress would be over. I hope everyone makes it through this latest event and has a wonderful holiday.Earlier in the week before the wild Christmas winds, two charters produced rat reds on bottom bait and small topwater plugs along with snook on small suspending twitch-baits, both species caught on or in the vicinity of oyster bars.A longtime client from New York makes the most beautifully finished topwater plugs you've ever seen and a cast and slow ...

Stealth is key with winter’s ultra-low tides and clear water

Resident anglers know that the cold water period brings very low or even negative tides to Southwest Florida as well as the year's clearest water.Don't know the local waters yet? Go slowly and have tow insurance.Inshore structures not seen in summer's higher tides suddenly become visible during winter's negative tide phases. Oyster bars; broken, sunken docks; cuts; drop-offs; and holes can now be added to your GPS hot spot list.For the winter flats hunter, ultra-low tides and clear water call for stealth, long casts and lighter lines. The push-pole angler silently gliding along will ...

A bluefish is one tough customer — but fun to catch

Winter brings one of my favorite off-shore species in close to hunt the shallow waters of Southwest Florida. Gag grouper do come in close in fall and early winter and sheepshead fishing becomes a winter staple in these parts but there is one more seasonal visitor I enjoy catching even more.The chrome plug landed on the edge of a school of Matlacha mullet. Before the first turn of the reel handle, it was savagely attacked and eaten in a large topwater explosion then absolutely flew across the flat at bonefish speed, burning drag and bending the rod deeply."Only a big jack pulls that ...

Stealth is key with winter’s ultra-low tides and clear water

Resident anglers know that the cold water period brings very low or even negative tides to Southwest Florida as well as the year's clearest water.Don't know the local waters yet? Go slowly and have tow insurance.Inshore structures not seen in summer's higher tides suddenly become visible during winter's negative tide phases. Oyster bars; broken, sunken docks; cuts; drop-offs; and holes can now be added to your GPS hot spot list.For the winter flats hunter, ultra-low tides and clear water call for stealth, long casts and lighter lines. The push-pole angler silently gliding along will ...

When the weather and water cool down, slow reeling is key

This past week, redfish and snook were the targeted species with redfish responding well to live and frozen shrimp fished on bottom around deeper docks and mangrove shorelines, although a small Yozuri topwater plug accounted for the biggest redfish of the week.Popping corks and shrimp aren't only for trout. Use them around current influenced snook docks. Use repeated soft casts and steer the floats with your rod tip. Use the current to explore all points of the dock structure with the live shrimp dancing below the float. Use heavier line to avoid piling break-offs.Enjoy the unseasonably ...

Hard-fighting pompano are a real fishing treat

While loading the ultra-lite spinning rods with soft plastics, at the same time explaining the finer points of bottom hopping jigs for sea trout, my first-time saltwater fishing clients were eager to get started.During their first 25 casts or so I watched as the line would jump or "tick" with little reaction from the novice anglers as the lure was inhaled, tasted, moved around the fish's mouth then finally, spit out. After going into drill sergeant mode and commanding loudly, even having to resort to shoulder tapping and rib poking, "Hit Em!" Or simply, "NOW! " They finally got the ...