by Captain Mike Merritt
February is here and I am hoping we have seen the worst of the cold fronts! But you never know. Fishing for all the winter species has continued to be good. Our biggest challenge has been these extreme low blowout tides. Now lately we have Gumbo Grass drifting in and piling up on all the banks. It’s nothing new but adds to things you have to deal with. Find an area either north or south of this and you will find the fish. The Seatrout continue to bite really well and although there are tons of little fish you can find some big ones this month. If you fish an area and catch 15-20 small trout you might as well leave to continue looking. Once you find slot size fish then fish that area. These fish tend to hang out in groups of the same size.
Black Drum are still being caught in a variety of places and I am expecting to see the schools of large Drum show up this month. The schools of big Black Drum can range from 50 fish on up to 100’s of fish. These fish can range between 10 and 30 lbs. They are a lot of fun and should be considered catch and release only. The big ones are full of worms and not worth trying to clean. Live shrimp or scented jigs cast to the lead fish will almost always produce bite. Work it slow or just let it drop in front of the school and wait for the bite.
Redfish are around but I typically catch more in the back country this time of year. Fishing with a jig tipped with shrimp is always a great way to search for these fish. There are still some in the Islands and a shrimp on a popping cork works great. This actually helps you keep from getting hooked on bottom for the novice fishermen. And you never know what else will bite while doing this, including Black Drum, Trout, Sheepshead, etc.
We are having a little warmer weather at the time of writing this and it should get the Snook biting in the backcountry. We caught a few today with some novice anglers and they were happy to get their first Snook. Depending on weather and water temps I have seen Snook fishing pick up in the Islands in February. When the water cleans up it makes for more sight casting opportunities. Hopefully these warm trends continue. But I am sure that no matter what I say now, it will be different in another week. We just have to adjust and make the best of every opportunity. I for one was hoping the Snook had a good spawn the last couple years but I am not seeing the results. We should be catching way more small Snook right now. Time will tell as 2-3 years after a good spawn we usually catch tons of small Snook.
Tarpon should start showing in good numbers by month’s end. I am looking forward to this. They should be more visible with the increasing numbers and this makes for some great times. These fish will be moving in from the south and we will start seeing them along the coast as they are feeding while on the move. If you are going to Tarpon fish then you need to commit if you hope to have any real success. Little effort, little reward, this is so true when it comes to Tarpon. But a couple good fish makes the day.
February is a great month and offers quite a variety so get out and enjoy what we have here in the Everglades 10,000 Islands. And good luck fishing!
Capt. Mike Merritt
Guide
(561) 252-4324
SnookFishing1@juno.com
