As usual the news media “Sensationalized the Circumstances” making folks think every fish in the area was killed. Nothing is farther from the truth…

I’ve lived here for 63 years and I believe its nature’s way if controlling nature. We’ve been through it before and we’ll go through it again.

“Fishing is exceptional” We’ve been catching fish on every trip since the cold spell, and it’s getting better every day, as the water temperatures return to normal.

We had some unseasonably cold weather and low water temperatures, in January, which was responsible for a large fish kill. Most species affected centered around catfish, spade-fish, sand perch, mullet, lady fish and snook. Yes, that’s right, we lost many large snook, but on a positive note, millions survived.

Snook – Snook fishing is notably slow during the winter; so I usually target other species giving them a break until spring. It’s difficult anyway trying to get them to eat when they are trying to stay warm. We did loose some big fish during the freeze, but these are older fish on the last of their life cycle. Nature at work.

Redfish – Fishing is good during the winter with plenty of available fish. We’ve been getting some nice slot fish on shrimp and cut bait. Terry Huff is pictured with a nice Tampa Bay Redfish. A sad note: Terry passed last year from lung cancer. See “Things That Matter”

Spotted Sea Trout – These fish light up during the cooler months and it’s not unusual to catch a limit in a short while. We’ve had days when it’s a fish on every cast. We get them on live shrimp and artificials and they are great eating.

Cobia – The cooler temps usually push the fish into or near the warm water run off of local power plants. However, we have better success in the summer months on flats and markers.

Sheepshead, Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, Pompano – I’ll be targeting sheepshead shortly around bridges and dock pilings. They move inside this time of year to spawn and we catch some really big tackle busters. Folks usually don’t think of sheepshead as tackle busters, but when the spawning crew moves in… hold onto your rod.

Wintertime Mackerel should continue strong and bluefish are always a hoot on light tackle, and many times when trout fishing we’ll luck up on a Pompano or small permit.