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| Fly fisher John Garcia had a field day, catching spotted seatrout like the one he's holding. |
January fishing was good when the weather allowed us to get
out. Wind, rain and cold were the culprits.
When cold weather hits (it occasionally does in Florida), I
like to head for Palma Sola Bay. Spotted seatrout there will drop into deeper
channels and are usually in good numbers.
I fished there on an exploratory trip and did well. Using
the new VuDu Shrimp from Egret Baits (www.egretbaits.com) is Many, La., I
caught a load of spotted seatrout and flounder. You can read my review of VuDu
Shrimp at http://gibbysfishingblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/vudu-shrimp-is-magical-on-variety-of.html
I took John Mallia and Jim Hoffman of New York to Palma and
we had a blast. We totaled 60 spotted seatrout and a 20 flounder. We also
managed a few ladyfish, sugar trout and a Spanish mackerel. We used D.O.A. CAL Jigs with gold
and copper crush paddle tails and VuDu Shrimp.
Speaking of Spanish mackerel
...
We had good numbers of large Spanish mackerel in Sarasota
Bay most of the month. I figured they would leave during the cold weather, but
they didn't. Neither did the bluefish. Perhaps both species willl still around
through spring?
John Mallia joined me for a trip on the Myakka River and we
did so-so. We totaled four snook to 26 inches, a pair of spotted gar, a channel
catfish and four ladyfish. We also jumped a small tarpon, but it threw the hook
at the kayak. All fish were taken on MirrOlure Lil Johns on light jig heads.
Myakka River fishing has been down this year in comparison
with past years. I'm not sure how the latest cold front affected the snook, but
I'm hoping it pushed a bunch up the river. Snook are not very tolerant of cold
water and will move into freshwater rivers and creeks in search of warmer
water.
Fly fisher John Garcia of San Francisco and I fished Palma
Sola Bay and did well. John caught a load of spotted seatrout and ladyfish on
brown Clouser Deep Minnows. We also caught a few flounder and ladyfish.
Patrick O'Connor of Rotonda and I drove to the St. Johns
River where we joined Dee Kaminski of Reel Kayak Charters out of Melbourne Beach for a day of shad
fishing. American shad migrate up the river from the Atlantic Ocean annually to
spawn. They usually show up in December, with the peak fishing being January
and February.
Patrick and I had never caught a shad, so this was a
"bucket-list" trip for both of us. We can cross shad off the list. On
the day, we totaled 40 shad to 4.25 pounds, 10 speckled perch to 13 1/2 inches,
a bluegill and a small bass. Patrick and Dee used small jigs on light spinning
rods. I used a pink-and-white Kiptail Clouser on a 6-weight fly rod. I also
used a chartreuse-and-pink shad fly on a 4-weight fly rod with a full-sinking
line.
We fished in cold and rainy conditions, but it was worth it.
When you're catching fish, you forget about the nasty weather.
February is booking up pretty well, with quite a few trips
already arranged.
I anticipate good action on spotted seatrout, bluefish,
Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, jack crevalle, flounder, redfish and ladyfish
throughout Sarasota Bay. Snook action could be good at night around lighted
docks.
In fresh water, I expect decent action on big bluegill,
channel catfish, speckled perch and shellcracker on Lake Manatee, Manatee River
and upper Myakka River.
Looking down the road, I expect the best redfish action in
March and April.
Steve Gibson
Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing
www.kayakfishingsarasota.com
941-284-3406
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