WEATHER & SEASON: THEY REALLY, REALLY MATTER

 

Florida lies in the subtropical climate zone. That means we have a mix of species that are usually found in either cooler or warmer climates. Snook are at the northern edge of their range here. Any further north and the number killed by winter chill becomes too much for them to sustain a population. Tarpon also prefer to live in tropical areas. On the other end of the scale, trout are a good example of a fish that prefers cooler water. Our winter temperatures don’t bother these fish at all, but the summer heat drives them to deeper water, which is always just a bit cooler. If you know what a particular fish prefers, you can more easily target that fish at any given time. Water temperature is the obvious thing you can look for, but once you find water the right temperature you can also figure out how to get your target to bite. A summer trout is too hot for comfort. Do you want to go run sprints when it’s hot out? Neither does the trout. A bait worked slowly is the ticket — the fish still has to eat, but it’s looking for a meal with minimal exertion. A warm-water fish, on the other hand, is raring to go. Snook and tarpon, among other species, do their most aggressive feeding in summer. In many cases, they’ll also be looking for larger prey — as their body temperature goes up, their metabolism rises and they require more fuel. Of course, there are many fish that will fall between these two extremes. Redfish feed actively most of the time, though they’ll slow down on the coldest and hottest days. Knowing your quarry is one of the surest ways of improving your fishing success. Although most anglers have read a bit about their favorite species, there’s always more to know. One great place to glean information is in scientific studies, which you can find online. Yes, you have to sort through a lot of mud to get to the gold nuggets — but anything that’s too easy is hardly worth doing anyway, right?

FALL

Fall is bringing a welcome drop in temperatures to Southwest Florida, but the fronts that knock down that summer heat also bring northeast winds that sometimes blow for days on end. This has two major effects: First, the water is rougher than most of us like and often makes for an uncomfortable boat ride. Second, the tides will be lower than forecast in Charlotte Harbor because of the shape of this body of water. There’s a good solution to both problems — fish the canals. Saltwater canals in Port Charlotte, North Port, Punta Gorda and Cape Coral offer more consistent water depth so you’ll have less worry of getting grounded. Seawalls, vegetation and houses serve as windblocks (if you pick the right spot, at least). The timing is good, because canal fishing is starting to pick up. Snook are showing up around docks and boat lifts, flounder are becoming more abundant, schools of jacks are common in many canals, and juvenile tarpon are frequently encountered. For the best action, stay within a mile or so of the canal mouths. Remember, you’re often fishing in people’s backyards. You have a right to fish their docks, but not to damage or trash their property, so be courteous.

SPRING

Are you one of those people who believe that you’re not really fishing unless you get started when it’s still pitch-dark outside? Then celebrate the arrival of spring. During the winter, many fish are lazy and unwilling to bite first thing in the morning. Once the sun warms things up, that’s when the fish really get going. In fact, in winter, the best bite is often at the end of the day. In summer the fish have the opposite problem — instead of being too cold to eat, they’re too hot to eat. That’s when the dawn fisherman has a leg up on the other guys. With the chill of the last cold front still lingering in their bones, the fish won’t be making this switch overnight. It will be a gradual transition. Right now, that means the best time to fish is — well, almost any time. Species that aren’t bothered by cool water such as flounder, cobia, trout and sheepshead will probably be eating just fine at dawn. Redfish, snook and tarpon, which prefer their water a bit warmer, will probably still be late risers. Want them all? There’s a sweet spot a couple hours after sunrise when the morning fish are still active and the afternoon fish have begun stirring.

 

During the dry months of winter and spring, waters both inshore and offshore get noticeably clearer. That means we’re getting closer to fluorocarbon season. When the water is clear and bright, fish can easily see your terminal tackle. Spooky or previously educated fish will avoid anything that seems odd or unusual, and that includes prey with a long silver tube attached to it. Monofilament and fluorocarbon leader materials look similar to our eyes. But when viewed underwater, mono looks almost like metal and fluoro is still transparent. Why? Stick with me — it gets technical. A material’s refractive index measures the way light is bent (refracted) when it travels through the substance. If we use air as the baseline (1.00), then water has a refractive index of 1.33. That’s why it’s hard to judge distances under water when you looking from above water — the light is bent funny. Monofilament has a refractive index of about 1.60. Fluorocarbon’s index is 1.42. Since light is bent more by mono, that material is much more visible underwater. But never mind all the mumbo-jumbo — put on a dive mask and see for yourself. The difference, as they say, is clear.

SUMMER

Rain means clouds, and clouds mean cooler water, and cooler water means fish feeding more aggressively. Multi-day rains in summer will push inshore water temperatures down by several degrees, so fish will be more eager to chase down artificial lures. This is good, because it means you can spend less time getting bait and more time fishing. Old favorites like bucktails and spoons are great choices, but another hot ticket right now is the suspending twitchbait — specifically, the MirrOlure 17MR and the Rapala Twitchin’ Mullet. Both of these lures are excellent whitebait imitations. A suspending twitchbait requires you do a little work. It doesn’t wobble or swim on its own. Instead, the angler must impart the action by reeling, twitching the rod (duh, the name) and pausing from short or long periods. The idea is to make the lure look like a dazed baitfish that’s gotten separated from the school. Keep varying the retrieve until you find what fish want, then stick with it. These baits are incredible fish catchers, sometimes even outfishing natural bait because you can cover more water with them.

 

Intense storms do strange things to fishing. Tarpon and other nearshore pelagic fish often flee from the area and don’t return until the silt has settled and the post-storm murk is gone, leaving the water clear and bright again. Inshore resident species like redfish and trout don’t have as many options. They’ll often respond by moving up into tidal creeks and under mangrove roots, looking for places where the roiling water can’t knock them around as much. Offshore bottom fishing usually doesn’t suffer much, but perhaps that’s because we almost always wait until the waves have settled down before venturing out. With saltwater fishing all mixed up, the best available option for post-storm fishing is often in fresh water. Smaller bodies of water like freshwater canals and ponds don’t get as rough during the storm, so they don’t take nearly as long to calm down afterward. Plus, cloudy and rainy weather has a way of firing freshwater fish up in a way that has to be seen to believed.

 

Early in the rainy season, storms that can form at any time of day. While afternoon thunderboomers are the tradition, a wise angler keeps one eye on the radar and one on the sky no matter what the hour. Fishing can be very good as the air pressure drops ahead of a storm. The faster the drop, the better the bite. But that must be weighed against the problems of getting caught in the storm itself. Now if it’s just rain, by all means fish right on through it. The problem comes when there’s lightning (obviously) or wind. Charlotte Harbor is a shallow inland body of water, but it can get surprisingly nasty in a very short period of time. People have lost their boats — and in some cases lost their lives — here simply by waiting too long to leave their fishing spots. Be especially cautious when wind and tide are moving against each other. That can cause seas to build quickly, even within a matter of minutes. Give yourself a buffer of about 15 minutes — in other words, pack up 15 minutes sooner than you think is necessary — and live to fish another day.

 

Summer rains tint Charlotte Harbor with brownish tannins from swampy upriver areas. In stained water, it’s harder for a fish to find your bait. Anything you can do to make it easier will result in more strikes for you. Scent is good, and so is sound. One of the simplest ways to combine them is with a popping cork rig. Popping corks are floats with a concave surface. When the line is sharply tugged, the cork makes a distinctive “blorping” sound. What does a fish think it is? I dunno — maybe another fish feeding? An injured baitfish at the surface? Doesn’t matter. The point is, it’s the dinner bell, and it gets their attention. Don’t pop the cork too often. Once every 20 to 60 seconds is plenty. Under the cork, you suspend your bait. A live or frozen shrimp works well. So does a chunk of cutbait. One of the best and most durable options is a soft plastic lure, which can be smeared with some sort of scent of stink juice. Stinky Fingers baits have a sponge molded into the plastic. The sponge holds the supplied scent juice and leaks it slowly into the water, creating a scent trail the fish can follow right to your lure. This solves the problem of scent washing off the lure too quickly, and despite the name, you’ll be handling the bait less so you won’t get too much bait smell on your lunch.

 

As summer temperatures climb toward triple digits, daytime fishing on Charlotte Harbor becomes less productive, less comfortable and more dangerous. Don’t risk your health to catch a few fish when there’s a simple solution right in front of you: It’s time to go nocturnal. Most days bring afternoon or evening thunderstorms, which cool both the air and the water. Wait for them to pass and fish behind them. Yes, it might be dark by then. So what? As long as the boat is outfitted with the required lights and you have a headlamp, you’re set. Fishing the open flats after nightfall is only for the daring, but that’s OK — there are lots of other options. At night, fish often congregate around artificial light sources. Look for places where strong lights create well-defined shadow lines (usually bridges) or individual lights overhang the water (often piers or private docks). Underwater lights intentionally placed to attract fish are also hotspots. Productive techniques include freelining live baits, casting small soft plastics or bucktail jigs, and trolling lipped plugs along shadow lines. Expect the fish that are eating to be lying in the dark, just outside the light’s reach.

 

Inshore water temperatures can push past 90 degrees in the dog days of summer. That's well outside the comfort range of most of our gamefish. Fishing in the peak of summer is a lot like fishing in the dead of winter. At both times, the fish are moving more slowly and less likely to move very far to grab a bite. Under these conditions, getting a fish to bite at all can be tough. Your bait needs to be as appealing as possible, which makes live bait the ideal choice. If you really want to stick with artificial lures, pick something that can be worked slowly, since the fish aren’t really in a mood to chase anything down. Preferably, you should choose a bait that gives off some kind of scent as well. If it sounds like I’m suggesting soft plastics, that’s because I am. Soak your baits in menhaden oil or some other fish attractant for at least a few hours. Overnight is even better. Then rig them on light jigheads or weighted hooks (1/16- or 1/8-ounce models work best). Let your lures sink and then hop-crawl them slowly across the bottom. The combination of slow, subtle motion and the smell of natural food is sure to get those predatory instincts fired up.

 

When the water is hot, what do fish do? The same thing you do when the air is hot: Try to find someplace that’s a little cooler. Shade is one option, so look for fish under overhanging vegetation (especially mangrove trees) or under the bridge shadows. Another possibility: Deeper water, which heats up more slowly. Many fish will also move out toward the Gulf, where the water doesn’t warm up quite as fast. Shallow water on the flats heats up very quickly, and as the rains bring dark water down the rivers, heat absorption will happen even faster. Of course, the opposite is also true: Once the sun goes down, shallow water cools off much faster. In the early mornings, fishing the flats can be productive, but once the day starts to warm up the fish will move someplace cooler. It’s not just comfort: Cool water holds more oxygen, and fish (news flash!) need to breathe too. Moving water will also be more oxygenated, so if you can find an area that offers fish both relief from the heat and some current, that’s likely to be a fish magnet.

 

In warm water, catch-and-release fishing gets more dangerous — for the fish, that is. Warmer water holds less oxygen, which is stressful on a fish. Forcing it to fight adds more stress. If your fish is in good shape, immediately return it to the water headfirst. If it does not swim or is lethargic or erratic, some “resuscitation” may be needed. To revive exhausted but otherwise healthy fish, place one hand under the tail and hold the bottom lip with the other. If the fish is in fair to good shape, hold it headfirst into the current. If it is severely lethargic, depress the bottom lip to cause the jaw to gape and gently move the fish forward. Moving the fish in an erratic back and forth motion will just induce more stress. Have you ever seen a fish swim backward and forward? At the first sign of the fish attempting to swim away, let it go. Prolonged attempts at resuscitation will be stressful to the fish. Large pelagic species such as sharks and tarpon should be brought alongside the boat within 20 minutes of being hooked. If you are consistently landing exhausted fish that require extensive efforts at resuscitation, you should consider using heavier tackle.

WINTER

Rapid changes in water temperature are perhaps the most jarring experience fish normally experience, other than being eaten. Fish are dependent on water temperature to regulate every part of their metabolism, and when it drops after a cold front, most things slow down for our warm-adapted species. That doesn’t mean they don’t eat, but it does mean they eat less. It also means that they’ll often target smaller prey items, which can be digested faster. Food rotting in their guts is not a good thing. To take advantage of that, it’s time to downsize your baits. Many popular lures are also available in smaller versions: The MirrOdine Mini, the Zara Spook Jr., the No. 6 X-Rap. Soft plastics are easily modified by cutting off the first inch or two of the body, leaving the tail to wiggle or vibrate as the maker intended. Natural baits can also be shrunk: Medium instead of large shrimp, finger-size instead of hand-size pinfish, smaller chunks of cutbait. Don’t forget to shrink your hooks as well — hooks are sized to your bait, not to the fish you hope to catch. Big baits will still get some interest, but smaller ones will probably get more when the water gets chilly.

 

When you’re cutting a hole through the surface of the ice, be sure to … well, it hasn’t quite come to that, but we do see a few mornings in the 30s every winter, and 20s aren't impossible. That’s chilly in anyone’s book, and much too cold for comfort if you’re a subtropical fish. Let’s review the basics of fishing colder water. First, slow it down — way down. A soft plastic lure crawl-hopped across the bottom is a good choice; a spoon cranked at top speed is not. The fish are still active and still eating, but with their metabolic rate directly tied to water temperature, they’re not looking to chase dinner down. That leads to the second point: Downsize your bait. In cold water, a fish’s digestive system works more slowly. They want smaller meals. Think chicken nuggets, not triple cheeseburgers. Third, wait for the water to warm up a bit before you start fishing. No need to be at the ramp before dawn. And once you get out there, look for slightly warmer areas: Deep channels, areas with dark bottom, seawalls and bridge abutments. If you’re paying attention, the local canals fit all of those parameters. Don’t forget the hot cocoa!

Cooler, warmer, cooler, warmer, cold, really cold, warmer, really warm, cooler, cold, hot. If Florida’s winter weather throws you for a loop, just imagine what it does to a cold-blooded fish that relies on its environment for thermoregulation. One of the biggest concerns (from the fishes’ point of view) is prey size. In summer, warm water means fish digest and metabolize more quickly. When it’s cold, large prey items stay in the stomach and gut longer and can rot. That’s the main reason they prefer smaller baits in winter, and it’s not just on cold days. A cold front can drop the temperature any time, so until the water is consistently warm again, expect even large fish to pass up big baits. This behavior is especially noticeable in fish that are of more tropical origin (snook and tarpon) because they have few adaptations for dealing with cold water. However, day-to-day temperature does affect how willing they are to chase baits. On warmer days, working your little wintertime lure a bit faster will often trigger a predatory response that you won’t see on cold days. So go small and slow when it’s cooler, and small and fast when it’s warmer.

 

Clear water is beautiful. Being able to see straight down to the bottom is wonderful for boaters and sightseers, but it’s not quite as pretty for a fisherman. Although it certainly makes seeing fish much easier, it also ensures the fish can easily see you. Worse, they can see your bait. Any little thing, like a shiny hook or visible leader, can be enough to cause a fish to snub your offering. It’s even harder when you’re trying to catch fish with bits of plastic or feathers instead of real food. In clear water, the skill of an angler becomes much more important. Part of that skill lies in selecting the right tackle. Use the smallest hook that will get the job done, and get it in a dull finish. Old-school shark fishermen used to rust their hooks on purpose to take the fish-spooking shine off them. When the water’s dark and murky, monofilament leader is fine. But fluorocarbon is much less visible underwater, and when conditions are clear and bright that can make a huge difference. For lure fishermen, bigger baits are more obvious fakes. Downsizing means the fish has to get really close to tell it’s not the real deal, and hopefully by then he’s already in full-on “eat it” mode. You can help convince the fish your artificial is edible by adding a bit of scent. If the lure mimics a shrimp, use shrimp or crab smell; if it looks like a baitfish, use mullet or menhaden. Whatever you do, don’t use the same tricks you would when you’re trying to attract a fish’s attention in the dark waters of summer. Big spoons put out a lot of flash — too much flash. Spinnerbaits on the flats make too much commotion and will drive fish away. Ditto lures with extra-loud rattles and other raucous soundmakers. Think subtlety and finesse. Sound still works, you just need less. And try not to move around too much — they’re watching you.

 

 

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