A little Florida to break up Winter

Well, I’m back from my long-awaited trip to Florida. It was less than spectacular on the fishing front, but there was enough going on at least to keep things interesting.

I was in the Bradenton area (south of Tampa) and fished Anna Maria Island city pier, the causeway through Palma Sola Bay, the Green Bridge in Palmetto, the Skyway Pier, and several locations in Siesta Key. Overall the water temps averaged about 8 degrees colder than they should be at this time of the year due to the horrible winter they have had. Even months after the devastating series of cold fronts they had around the second week of January, dead fish could be seen decomposing in the shallows. I saw some Snook in the 30” range, white and rotting on the bottom. Reports I heard while down there are guessing at possibly 1/2 million Snook perished due to the cold water conditions. They have a temporary closure on several species till they can assess the damage. Snook is closed till fall and I would guess that it may be extended even further.

There was a noticeable lack of baitfish which is having a huge effect on the fishing. Some of this bait population also perished, and the rest just isn’t near shore to draw in the larger fish. It was actually very warm the first four days of our trip reaching 81 at one point. Even a short warm-up like this was bringing the skinny water back to life. I did see some small schools of mullet and a rare sighting of a school of Ballyhoo in the shallows off the Green Bridge in Palmetto.

My effort on the big piers (where I am more familiar) was dead. A call back home to fishing buddy Mike Schwister put him on the internet for me for a quick fishing report check from 1300 miles away. Mike said, get off the piers and head south and find some skinny water and grass. Bingo, right on. I found action down in Siesta Key the next couple days and saved the trip.

Let’s be honest here, the fishing was slow. But moving south put me on at least some action. Ladyfish saved the week for me. They aren’t huge but like everything else in the salt, they fight a lot harder than most things in fresh water. Ladyfish will scream a little line off the reel but they really put on an aerial show for you, jumping 6-8 times during the fight.
Outside of that the usual Pinfish and Blowfish kept you sharp and some bonus Flounder to feed the locals fishing along side of you.

Jigs and Gulp! shrimp or Gulp! minnows were the hot item. With the bite so slow I was reluctant to experiment too much although I threw some gold spoons and Mirrodines here and there but no action. I did try some live shrimp but all I seemed to do is feed the Pins. I should have just boiled up the shrimp.

Ironically, I paid $3.99 per pound for ground beef at the local Publix. I also bought a pound of raw shrimp with the shells on to use as bait or just to sweeten up a jig. The shrimp was $2.99 per pound!!! We laughed that we should have just eaten shrimp all week!

For anyone heading down there, the Anna Maria City pier is a great place for a Grouper sandwich and just about anything they serve from what we had. The restaurant is about 700 feet out in the bay on a pier. If you are still, you can feel that it moves with the waves! If you can’t feel it, look at the wine glasses hanging above the bar. They swing ever so slowly.

One thing I really want to do again is fish the Skyway. I’ll close this up for today, but my next blog I want to talk about the Skyway. What a treasure that pier is. For a pier rat like me, the Skyway is heaven on earth.

The Harbor

Back home here, the action has been slow for shore anglers. A few fish are being caught under the Hoan and ice is out at most places. Watch for the ice to go out in the McKinley basin. This is always a good bet if you can time it right. My late father’s one time world record Brown (8# test) was taken on the weekend that the ice went out on the McKinley area. We had three fish over 20 pounds in two mornings culminating with his C&R world record. There are a lot of big fish under the ice and when it goes out there is a great opportunity till they disperse. Suspending minnow baits like big Husky Jerks or X-Raps are great for the big ones. Work them slow.

Till next time, tight lines, smooth drags, and take someone fishing!