Cooler Weather = Hot Fishing on Florida’s Big Bend Gulf Coast

There’s something about cool weather fishing on Florida’s Nature Coast. Gulf of Mexico waters cool rapidly as cold fronts hit the coast on an almost-regular 3 day cycle. Air temperatures vary from the high 30’s to the 80’s as the Holiday season approaches, and water temperatures soon follow. In many cases, the Gulf water temperatures …

Don’t Miss Fishing Florida’s Big Bend “Halloween High Tide”!

Expect to see water flooded well into Big Bend creek during the “Halloween Tides” Fishing mid-day high tides, like the ones we’ll have the weekend of October 29 and 30 (Halloween weekend!), can be a good thing—fish move closer to shore and can’t get any farther, making it easy to catch both big reds and …

Fishing The Big Bend Marsh–The Closer You Get, The More Reds You’ll Catch!

In the fall, high tides flood, pushing water well into the creeks and marshes all along Levy, Dixie, Taylor, Jefferson and Wakulla Counties, on Florida’s Big Bend.  We don’t have many mangroves, but we do have lots of spartina grass which offers comfort to redfish, or red drum. When the reds get back in the …

Redfish Turn Red in Tannic Creeks After Big Rains

If you’ve ever wondered why redfish (red drum) are red, head to a Gulf-facing coastal creek just after a big rainstorm.  On Florida’s Big Bend, big summer storms often bring multiple inches of rain.  It usually backs up into the swamps and filters through the coastal swamps to the Gulf, bringing significant amounts of tannin …

Fishing News: Redfish daily bag limit in Big Bend to change to 1 fish per person

On May 1, 2016, the individual bag limit for redfish (red drum) will drop from 2 fish to 1 fish on Florida’s Big Bend (Pasco County to the Alabama line).  The FWC’s Northwest Zone is affected, as shown on the map below: Red drum, also called redfish, channel bass, spottail, red bass or reds, are …

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 …

It’s Fall–And Those Big, Tasty Redfish Are Plentiful on Florida’s Big Bend!

Fall means that our Gulf waters are beginning to cool off, and the redfish are getting frisky and into a spawning mood.  However, the big “bull” and “spawner” reds are over-slot and wouldn’t be great to eat anyway.  Reds in the 18-27-inch slot are much better at the table. If you want to eat a …