Visit Everglades City and the Ten Thousand Islands of Southwest Florida, the Everglades

Winter Bite Continues

Everglades City

by Captain Mike Merritt

As fronts continue to move down upon us, we keep on catching fish! Sheepshead seems to be abundant and everyone is catching good size fish inshore. This should continue thru the month and into February. Shrimp on the bottom is all you need. Cutting your shrimp into smaller pieces will make it harder for them to steal your bait and easier for you to get hooked up. The largest numbers of these fish will be in the deeper rock holes, but don’t count out the oyster bars and even along shorelines as the tide starts to rise. They are a sucker for shrimp. And depending on current, depth, and type of bottom, that will dictate how much lead you use to reach the bottom. Sometimes you might be better off free lining a shrimp to these guys in shallow water. Other times you might need a 3/4 oz. sinker. They can be fun to fish and they taste great!

Seatrout are still abundant and we are coming up on the time of year when the biggest trout are caught. I have been catching quite a few 20” Trout so I am looking forward to the bigger ones. A 1/2 oz. DOA shrimp under a popping cork is still your best bet. And a 1/4 oz. jig tipped with a small piece of shrimp will get plenty of action. The Trout seem to be spread out in a variety of places, from rock holes, oyster bars, flats and rivers, we are catching them everywhere.

Redfish are a little tougher still but my best action on these has been in rivers heading into the backcountry. Live bait, shrimp and jigs tipped with shrimp are all producing action. Depending on what clients are able to do I will fish jigs most effectively. But, if you are not proficient at casting then bait or shrimp will get action. Your best result when the water is cold is a slow retrieve or just sitting bait on the bottom. If you find one there should be others in the area. There are also some Black Drum around which are very similarly caught except they respond primarily to shrimp or scented baits like Gulp. You may find these guys feeding right alongside the Reds as they are both Drum and have similar feeding habits.

The Snook bite has been primarily in the backcountry. Rivers, creeks, back bays, and cuts can all hold fish during the cooler months. The outside Islands are not holding any numbers of these guys right now. Jerk baits, Twitch Baits, and jigs can all produce action in the back. Casting lots of shoreline will get you on some fish. The more ground you cover the odds go up! Don’t give up, just keep on casting. Some of these fish will be laying tight but don’t forget to work the shoreline as much as 30 ft. out when it’s cold as these fish can be warming themselves on the dark bottom.

Catching a variety this time of year can add to the fun. 12-15 species is not uncommon this time of year. Snook, Reds, Trout, Snapper, Sheepshead, Jacks, Ladyfish, Mackerel, Black Drum, Catfish, Pompano, Tarpon, Pufferfish, Whiting, Silver Trout, just to name some of the most common species we catch here. It makes for a great day on the water as long as the fish are biting, and they have been biting! I expect the fishing to remain steady all the way up to our upcoming Seafood Festival. We even have plenty of Mullet around which are a local favorite. If you have never tried it, grab some at the Festival and stop by my Amazon Fishing Booth and say hello!

I look forward to seeing you there and good luck on the water!
Capt. Mike Merritt
Guide | (561) 252-4324 | SnookFishing1@juno.com

2025-01-29T12:03:52-05:00February 5, 2025|Fishing|

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