High winds and choppy seas have still been a problem for offshore fishermen, and the rocking back and forth of the temperatures have slowed down a lot of bites.
Sheepshead continue to be active near the shore and in the rivers and inlets, and the speckled perch bite is still strong in Lake Woodruff.
OFFSHORE: Fishing picked up a little bit last week but conditions worsened again making offshore fishing once again a challenge, Capt. Doug Davis (saltybonesnewsmyrna.com) said in an email. “Fishing near shore early Friday morning may be a consideration, however the wind will pick up later on Friday into the weekend,” he said. Last week, he said they fished about 18 miles out and in the cold water the only bite were coming from sea bass, grunts and small red snapper. “We were able to get enough keeper seabass to make the trip worthwhile and we lost count of the seabass we had to toss back in because they were just under the minimal keeper size of 13 inches.” He added that “another captain said he fished inshore at the Haulover Canal and there were dead snook all over due to the cold water.”
ST. JOHNS RIVER: Speckled perch — or crappie — are still abundant, especially in Lake Woodruff, said Capt. Bryn Rawlins of Highland Park Fish Camp in DeLand. “There’s a lot of specks over 2 pounds, a lot of good catches, she said. Anglers have been using artificial jigs and minnows, she said. The bass bite is still tough to come by, she added. “With the weather going back and forth and the water temperature dipping down,” she cited as the reasons. “Hopefully next week, it’ll pick back up. Maybe we can get the weather on an even keel.”
MOSQ. LAGOON, INDIAN RIVER: Capt. Brad Kayholm (whambamcharters.com) also reports strong bites for whiting and sheepshead. "Times like this when the weather is cold and the wind is nonstop, fishing can be miserable for your normal trout and reds. But in this cold the whiting and sheepshead bite in New Smyrna has stayed consistent," he said in an email. "Using chum will get you more bites for sure. I like to use sand fleas, but fiddlers and shrimp will work as well. I use a 2/0 short J hook for the sheeps and really set that hook."
SURF, PIERS: Sunglow Pier reports whiting and sheepshead are biting, but there’s not a lot to be found right now. The Flagler Beach Pier reports about the same, mostly whiting with a few sheepshead.
PONCE INLET, HALIFAX RIVER: The Spruce Creek area fishing was really hot leading up to this recent cold front and full moon, Capt. Kyle Busby (nobigreel.com) said in an email. “The snook, redfish and trout in the backcountry are really fat, especially the redfish,” he reports. “The winter tides are making it difficult to get past the Spruce Creek railroad bridge, but if you can get back there and get some moving water, the fishing can be lights out.”
MATANZAS INLET, RIVER: Capt. Chris Herrera (palmcoastfishing.com) said there’s still a lot of dead snook around. “The cold is really affecting the snook,” he said. But he added it’s a good time for sheepshead, “targeting the bridge pilings and the inland pilings suing fiddler crabs or clams.” He said to use a bottom fishing rig. Also, “red fish are still schooling on the shallow flats,” he said. “Artificial lures and live shrimp should get you a bite.”
TOMOKA BASIN, RIVER: Jeff Patterson (smallboatbigfish.com) said in an email he’s only been out a few times within the last week. He reports “catches of some slot reds in the basin when you get a break from the north winds.” He added the “seatrout have been back in the Tomoka (but keeping track of them with the back and forth weather is not easy), and there’s a few snook back there as well.” He said the trout haven’t been huge, but there’s a lot of slot fish from 15 to 18 inches.
Capt. Barry Englehardt (fishwithcaptainbarry.com) said in an email that “despite the many snook floating all around the area, I had one charter catch 20 snook and one keeper red,” while another charter had seven snook and two baby tarpon and a third charter had three cats and one red. He said there’s “reds in the basin and snook up river.”
SEND PHOTOS: We want to see your most recent catch. Email your fish photos to robert.ullery@news-jrnl.com. Be sure to include type of fish, size of fish (weight and/or length), where the fish was caught, first and last names and hometown of angler who caught the fish, and first and last name of person who took the photo. If a child is in the photo, please include their age. The News-Journal will use one or two photos in print each week and the other photos submitted will go into the online gallery called “Readers Fish Photos.”