www.amisun.com
JANUARY 17, 2018
THE SUN
27
Winter fishing heats up CAPTAIN DAVE WHITE
Anna Maria Charters has been putting fish in the boat. We had a great little break in the winter weather last week. Although a little foggy, conditions were phenomenal. The Gulf was the flattest it’s been in quite awhile. With the recent drop in water temperatures, I was betting on the hogfish to have moved in onto the shallower ledges offshore. I start looking for these guys in anywhere from 40 to 60 feet of water. Live shrimp on a knocker rig will set you up for success. You have to get through quite a bit of porgy, grunts and undersized grouper to get to the hogfish. But once you get your first one, typically, the bite is on. The males have a black face and tail, while the females remain more orange or pinkish. Tripletail, pompano, sheepshead and big trout will also be prevalent in these colder conditions. Although they’re not the biggest fish in the sea, they taste great and are a great fight on light tackle equipment. With the forecast, it’s looking a bit windy. So we’ll be sticking in close and taking advantage of the winter time fishing. Tight lines.
CAPTAIN RICK GRASSETT
Anglers fishing with me, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had decent action with trout and bluefish in Sarasota Bay on flies, DOA Deadly Combos and CAL jigs with shad tails and snook and blues on flies in the ICW at night during the past week. Sunny afternoons and calm winds allowed the water to warm back
CAPTAIN RICK GRASSETT | SUBMITTED
Kost, from New York, with his first fish on a fly, both caught and released on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly on a a blustery day in Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett. into the 60s following last week’s strong front and trout moved into shallow water. Marshall Dinerman, from Atlanta, Ga., fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday afternoon. With water temperature in the high 50s, action was slow. We caught and released a few trout on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos on deep grass flats. The largest trout was caught on a CAL jig with a shad tail in less than 2 feet of water, which was also the warmest water. Keith McClintock and Victor Feldman, both from Ilinois, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday. It was slow to start, but trout turned on in the afternoon as the sun warmed shallow water to as warm as 65 degrees in a couple of spots. Snook also moved onto the
CAPTAIN DAVE WHITE | SUBMITTED
Ann Evans, from Toronto, shows off a pair of nice hogfish caught with Captain David White of Anna Maria Charters. edges of bars to warm up. With water temperatures back in the 60s after several days of warming, Martin Marlowe, from New York, fished the ICW with me on Thursday night. He had good action catching and releasing snook and several blues around dock lights on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. Fish were actively feeding and swimming away strong. Afternoons and evenings will usually have the warmest water of the day, as the sun warms shallow water that flushes out of bays with outgoing tides. Another front pushed through
on Friday, beginning a few days of below average temperatures. Steve Kost, from Lakewood Ranch, and his son Nick Kost, from New York, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday. It was very windy, rough and tough to find any protected water to fish. Despite the tough conditions, they had some action with bluefish, trout and ladyfish on flies. I worked with Nick on his fly casting, and he scored his first fish on a fly, a ladyfish, in 25-mph wind. The toughest fishing this time of year is usually the day of a front or the day after, when the wind blows from the northwest and cold air comes rushing in, causing
water temperatures to fall. Water temperatures may drop back into the 50s next week, so temperature sensitive fish should be avoided at that time. Fish the windows of stable weather between fronts for the best action. Sunny afternoons with some protection from the wind should fish better this time of year due to warmer water. There should be good action with trout, blues, pompano and more on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Shallow water action for larger trout and reds should also be a good option.