Rick Davidson (grassflats2@yahoo.com), Editor
Let's see. A quick summary of December would be the comment made by my neighbor's daughter, 'Mommy, why is it 80 degrees on Christmas day?' The extended warm spell certainly confused the inshore fishing, but offshore the grouper were in relatively close and hungry. This is one of the best times for offshore fishing in our area, as you can see from some of the pictures accompanying this report. Inshore, the temperature-sensitive trout have been roaming back and forth between deep water, the river, and the flats as the temperatures change. The water temperature has varied from 55 degrees to 68 degrees, which affects trout fishing a great deal. Additionally, while baitfish have been plentiful offshore, they haven't come into the flats, so some trout have been found in water from 6 to 10 feet in depth. And some nice trout have been caught in the river; rumors of a particularly large fish caught from the old West Wind Marina dock have circulated.
Redfish, which this time of year includes the smaller fish (the larger fish have gone offshore to spawn), have been found in creeks to the south of the river in good numbers. My inshore trips this month have been very inconsistent, but in general we found a couple of large trout most times we went out. One trip we caught four trout, and all were over four pounds, with a five-pounder at the top end. The weather really hasn't been cold enough for the large trout to school, which classically happens with very cold temps on warming afternoons. Capt. Tommy Thompson wrote an excellent article about winter trout fishing at Steinhatchee in the January 2009 issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Pick up a copy and it will help your next trip.
Offshore, things have been hot. When the weather has allowed our boats out, everyone has come back with excellent fish. Large gags, giant black sea bass (who are in spawning mode) and even the occasional winter kingfish have been brought in to the cleaning tables.
Finally, I hope everyone has a safe, happy and fishy 2009!
JANUARY 2008 FISHING FORECAST
Assuming we have a normal January, we will have more consistent cold temperatures. We can expect the offshore fishing to remain excellent, and there is a grouper closure looming in February and March, so now is the time to get your grouper filets. As usual during this time of year, bottom fishing with live or dead bait is most efficient if you have good numbers, but trolling with lipped diving lures over unknown areas can be a great way to find some live bottom. Drifting with large jigs and pieces of squid over these areas can be very productive. Our offshore guides have some great spots and will take you where the fish are.
Inshore, this is the last month to collect some trout filets as the season is closed in February. The trout will be found more consistently in the river with the colder temperatures. Anchoring just outside the channel and casting into the deeper water with live shrimp or Gulp baits with split shots and letting the current carry your baits is the standard way of fishing, but casting sinking plugs such as the Mirrolure 52M or even trolling slowly through fishy areas can be productive. On your bottom machine, you will see a lot of fish in the river. Smaller croakers, black drum and redfish will be very near the bottom. Trout and mullet will be swimming more in mid-depth. Please be courteous of other anglers and boaters by staying out of the channel and keeping some distance between you and others. There will be plenty of keeper trout to be had. When trout are in the river, they are constantly moving with the current, so if you catch several and then the bite slows down, that usually just means a school has moved on. Another will likely appear, so moving around a lot generally doesn't help your catch rate. Do pay attention to other boats, and if nobody is catching anything, don't hesitate to move at those times. And remember that some very large trout have been caught way upriver in very cold water; a friend caught the largest trout he has ever caught at Steinhatchee, over 31 inches, at the power lines, way upriver from the bridge.
Captain Tommy Thompson, www.flanaturecoast.com/capttommy, (352) 284-1763
I can't complain about the sportfishing at Steinhatchee during December, although it's really turned towards trout rather than redfish. Bob and Melissa Sargeant fished with me on the 9th and while we didn't catch lots of fish, we had a great time. Melissa got a nice red and put both Bob and me to shame. Bob also learned that casting a spinning rod all day was much easier than slinging his old Penn baitcaster!
Tyson Reed came down from Rome, GA on the 16th and we fly-fished the close-in bars and flats. The tide was extremely low, but after we were able to get in close to shore, we found some nice trout, including three that went 4-pounds each.
As you probably know, I also fish for fun with Rick and our friend, Doug Barrett. We had several good days for both reds and trout. We fished on the 28th and found a few big trout (and lost a few, too) in close. And, on New Year's Eve, Doug found some nice reds on the flats and caught 5 on topwaters. Rick and I found trout on the rising tide and got 3 in the 5-pound range, as well as a bunch of 'shorts'--fish just under the 20" 'gator' limit! We found that brightly-colored MirrOlure Catch 2000's did the best on these big, wary fish.
Finally, the highlight of my month was a trip with former President Jimmy Carter, his daughter Amy and grandson, Hugo. Unfortunately, they were only able to fish a few hours and we were handicapped by a severely low tide and bad fog. We had hoped to fly fish, but we could hardly see the bottom (or the USCG boat shadowing us!). Young Hugo saved the day with a nice 4.5-pound trout that he caught on a Heddon Swim 'n Image lure--a nice catch for anyone!
If you're interested in a 'catch-and-release hunting for big fish' trip, please give me a call. And if you're interested in some more in-depth information about fishing our beautiful Big Bend, take a look at my weekly Fishing4Cast on the Florida Sportsman Magazine website at http://www.floridasportsman.com/4cast/bb/index.html or at the Florida Sportsman Big Bend Action Spotter column beginning in the January 2009 issue.
Captain Steve Hart, www.legallimitscharters.com, (352) 498-0299
December has been a great month for grouper fishing. The best fishing has been in 60 ft. and beyond, with water temperatures in the 60 degree range, using both live and dead bait. There are some nice concentrations of black sea bass in about 20 to 30 feet if you are looking for some good fun and great eating. As you all know gag grouper season will be closed February 1 through March 30 and red grouper from February 15 to March 15. If you are planning April trips, make your plans early as they will book up fast. Also remember that in March the sheepshead fishing should be good and you can always count on a great catch of Florida Snapper. Scallop season hopes to be promising and opens July 1. Don't forget that Legal Limits Charters now has two great boats to offer; call now to reserve your fishing and scalloping trips and I hope to see you on the water soon.
Captain Walt Carlson, (352) 498-3176
Hot and cold--hot and cold—the fish aRe behaving just like the weather.
Trout have showed up at the mouth of the river and are mostly being caught on live shrimp. Others have caught them on the Gulp! shrimp using the usual new penny and white colors. Old-timers who have fished the river for some time are using the sinking Mirrolures and although I haven't heard what was working best, in the past 52M-26 and 52M-28 have been used for many years successfully to catch trout. Trout on the flats have been spotty. You just have to look for them--some have had excellent days and others have been skunked but that's fishing! Grouper too have been hot and cold-- live pinfish worked the best for me the last time I was out. I am still offering both inshore and offshore trips.
Tight lines and good fishing!
