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Warm Winter Restores Summer Fishing Patterns

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By FRANK SARGEANT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 9, 2007

OK, 85 degrees isn't winter.

That seems to be what the fish are saying along much of the coast these days with the unprecedented warm weather. In many areas where fish moved to winter patterns on a few early cool fronts, migrating into rivers and canals, most seem to have moved back out and returned to their late fall locations.

In fact, on an annual trip to Waccassa, Tampa charter skipper Richard Seward and pals found no fish at all in the inside waters, where they're usually stacked up at this time of year after several freezes.

"Water temperature on the flats was 71 degrees," Seward said. "That's unbelievable for that far north in December."

And, Seward reports, the fish responded to the warm water.

"Pretty much everything we caught was out in the bay on the edge of the grass, just like they would be in summer," Seward said.

He said the anglers caught a lot of trout over the grass, along with fair numbers of keeper-sized reds near the many oyster bars in the area.

Another odd report this week came from captain Bill Miller of Catch 47-TV, who also contributes fishing reports to the Tribune. Miller, fishing with captain Ky Lewis and retired astronaut Bruce Melnick, caught a number of snook several miles up the Withlacoochee River - far north of the accepted snook range, particularly for winter.

Though there has long been a splinter population of snook in the Crystal and Homosassa rivers in this area, those fish depended on the warm outflow of the springs for winter survival. The Withlacoochee, though fed by some spring-fed rivers, is largely a surface-water river and usually much colder than the Crystal and Homosassa. But that no longer seems to make much difference when winter has become a second summer. Snook, a tropical species, require water temperatures above 58 degrees year-round to survive.

On Tampa Bay, anglers are finding plenty of snook in potholes and around the river mouths, the spots where they usually reside in October. Reds are mixed with the snook, and also following the mullet migration, which is in full swing in some areas. The mullet typically move in pulses along the bars on the outside of the grass flats and also run up on the flats on high water. They make wakes similar to reds, but experts say the redfish wakes are typically more obvious.

One great tactic just now, being practiced by captain Chet Jennings, is to get out of the boat and wade for the redfish, particularly on low tides near the new and full moons. The fish tail readily on hard bottom and can be caught on flies, a weedless spoon, swim-bait, plastic shrimp or topwater.

Trout season is closed in all waters south of Fred Howard Park, near the Pasco/Hernando line, through the end of December, but it's hard to avoid catching at least some of the abundant specks now - they are stacked over the deep grass just beyond the edge of the flats.

Spanish and king mackerel should be long gone by now, but they're abundant. Captain Scott Moore reported getting 15 kings off the beach at Anna Maria last week, and Spanish are pretty much anywhere there are schools of surfacing bait and diving birds. In general, so long as the water temperature remains in the upper 60s, this fishing can be expected to continue. And there are usually blues, jacks and ladyfish mixed with the Spanish, as well - anywhere between the Skyway and Port Manatee Channel is a likely place to locate this action.

The only action that's not so great right now is in the classic winter spots, deep holes in the rivers and canals. And these spots won't get good until we get some truly cold weather - if we ever do.

BAY WATCH GETS DONATION: Alex Leva, longtime Bay area angler and a top executive with Hydra-Sports Boats, gave the conservation programs of Tampa Bay Watch a big boost recently by arranging a company donation of a 22-foot Hydra-Sports center console, complete with 200-horse Evinrude outboard and trailer. The boat will be sold to raise funds for Bay Watch, which has been responsible for creating oyster reefs and salt marsh areas all around Tampa Bay over the last several years. Bay Watch executive director Peter Clark says the organization welcomes other donations of new or used watercraft, RVs and other equipment; (727) 867-8166.

EVENTS: The Snook Foundation hosts its holiday banquet/fundraiser at Snookers Grill in Tarpon Springs on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The $25 ticket includes dinner, all snook anglers welcome; www.snookfoundation.org. ... Tightlines Tackle, 6924 N. Armenia Ave. in Tampa, presents a free Ladies Shopping Night on Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m., including wine, snacks and special deals on fishing gear for husbands; (813) 932-4721.

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