by Capt. Matt Mitchell
Two steps forward, one step back is a great description of our winter fish patterns. After a week of amazing weather, we experienced yet another cold front early in the week. Although this sent water temperatures plummeting yet again after only a few days, we quickly recovered. By March, our cold fronts will be milder, and low temperatures will rarely dip below 50 degrees. Fingers crossed this front marks what should be close to the end of our winter.
Warmer temperatures before the front brought some of the best redfish action I have seen all winter. Higher tides and south winds gave us some of the highest tides in months, allowing access to the many oyster bars throughout the sound. This fishing did not disappoint with a few afternoons of non-stop redfish action while bouncing live hand-picked shrimp on jig heads. During periods of unseasonal south winds, this bite was nonstop, with more than 20 redfish caught on afternoon trips. Most of these redfish measured 17-21 inches; what they lacked in size, the sheer numbers made up for.
Mangrove creek fishing was also a good bet during the lower tide periods for redfish. Many of the mangrove creek systems in the sound also produced fantastic redfish action, with a few more quality fish in the mix, ranging from 17 to 24 inches. Generally, these fish were on the deeper shorelines with faster-moving currents. This bite for me this week was better on chunks of fresh shrimp on the same 1/4oz jig head. This tight, narrow creek fishery requires a very short, accurate cast, then the moving water keeps the jig moving down the shoreline. One small mangrove pocket could hold several redfish if you could make that often difficult cast.
The inshore sheepshead bite really slowed as water temperatures slowly crept back into the low 70’s before the front. It seems we get a big push of these fish with each cold front, then they slowly get picked over. As usual, this latest cold front should give us another good wave of big spawning sheepshead, as this fishery generally peaks in March. Conditions to catch these sheepshead nearshore are going to take a few days to calm down after the passing of this windy front, though, as soon as it does, I’m positive this action will continue to be on fire.
Trout fishing pre-front was also a great bite, though getting fish over the 15-inch minimum was a challenge most days. Popping cork fishing live shrimp on the flats in 2-4ft of water meant fish on almost every cast. Seeing so many trout throughout the sound is awesome, though, as it shows we have great water quality. Anglers cutting bait with chunks of ladyfish have been catching some much larger trout in these same areas, although this is a sit-and-wait kinda bite and not the nonstop popping-cork bite. The beaches on north Captiva and Cayo Costa during calm pre-front conditions were also good spots to catch lots of trout.
Watching everything in the sound slowly rebound and come back to life after cold periods is all part of South Florida winters. This roller coaster ride of water temperatures will get lower and lower as we move through the month of March. Spring is on the horizon, and snook and tarpon fishing is not far behind.
