Sheepshead–A Favorite Cool Weather Nearshore Fish Species on Natural North Florida’s Gulf Coast

Inshore and nearshore fishing along Florida’s Gulf Coast has as much to do with economics as it does with species. Of course, many inshore anglers long to be aboard a big sport fishing boat trolling the depths of the Gulf for fish of mammoth proportions. The reality, however, of a round trip that has fuel …

Winter Fishing’s Best Bet–Spotted Seatrout on Florida’s Natural North Florida’s Gulf Coast

I’m no expert on spotted seatrout biology or mortality, but for some reason the Big Bend saw a decided decline in that fishery this past year. At first, trout were scarce from Tampa Bay to Apalachicola, and then they started to bite. However, anglers catching a hundred a day only caught three or four keepers. …

Cool Weather Brings Good Spotted Seatrout Bite to Natural North Florida’s Gulf Coast

A typical winter day near Steinhatchee’s  Sea Hag Marina! Everyone wants a limit of spotted seatrout! Cool air temperatures that follow the arrival of cold fronts to Natural North Florida’s west coast usually drop Gulf and river water temperatures down a degree or two.  Feeling that drop, and the likely onset of winter, spotted seatrout …

Taylor County’s Dallus Creek Is On Fire–With Spotted Seatrout, January 2016

Almost like clockwork, and on yearly basis, seatrout seem to head into Dallus Creek and the “trout holes” there.  It’s usually after the first few days of cold weather, and no one seems to understand the dynamics of this excellent fishing spot.  For the most part, Dallus Creek is shallow, but there are a couple …

The “411” on Fishing Steinhatchee’s North Shore in Winter Months

The close-in coastline south of Steinhatchee often gets more than its fair share of attention by anglers, especially during the cool early-winter months. There are, of course, a couple of good reasons. First, the bottom is rockier there, providing shelter and warmth for the bait fish and crustaceans that are of interest to inshore species …

“Christmas Trout” on Natural North Florida’s Big Bend

On our Big Bend, in warmer months, slot-sized spotted seatrout tend to roam the grass-covered bottom from Yankeetown to St. Marks, feeding on pinfish, shrimp and just about anything that gets within range. That includes a myriad of artificial lures and baits, ranging from soft plastics rigged under popping corks to hard-bodied lures, retrieved with …

Florida’s Big Bend Coastal Creeks Offer Excellent Wintertime Fishing–Just Don’t Get Stranded By The Tide!

Fishermen are lucky.  When wintertime arrives in Florida, all that’s usually necessary is a light coat to keep away the cold.  However, cold-blooded fish species like seatrout, redfish (red drum), black drum and sheepshead, are not so lucky.  They’re cold-blooded, and as water temperatures fall into the 50s, they seek the warmth of deep creeks, …

News Flash! Big Bend Inshore Fish Celebrate The New Year 2015

After somewhat of a “fish drought” in late 2014, Big Bend fishing for spotted seatrout and redfish has picked up significantly since New Year’s Day 2015.  I’m not sure exactly why, possibly due to some sunny days and cooler water temperatures, but there seem to be plenty of fish being caught from Yankeetown to Panacea, …

Take Advantage of Natural North Florida’s Warm Winter Waters–Go Wade-Fishing!

It may be cold where you live, but we’re having a nice, comfortable winter here in Natural North Florida.  Christmas and New Year’s saw daytime temperatures approaching 80-degrees F and Gulf of Mexico water temperatures in the mid-60’s.  That’s “cool” for us, but it’s perfect for species like black drum and redfish.  These cousins (redfish …