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Stable Weather Needed for Consistency

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By RAY MARKHAM

Published: January 20, 2009

Weather plays a major role in fishing. Temperatures lately have been bouncing like the proverbial ball.
These up-and-down extremes have made for some very tough fishing. Fish have not had much of a chance to acclimate between the fronts.

Yet another front moved in Monday night into the area, pushing the temperatures down into the 30s locally and the 20s to the north. These cold nights and days continue to slow fishing.

By Thursday, normal temperatures will resume for several days, according to predictions. With these kinds of changes, few species of fish will be predictable.

Sheepshead may be the heartiest of fish around, but it's still early for good numbers and sizable fish to be readily available. We don't target them very often with artificial baits, but do catch them on occasion.

However, we have been catching good numbers of spotted seatrout. Our presentations are dead slow using DOA Shrimp. A number of new colors are working exceptionally well, but all presentations of every color are only effective as long as contact is maintained with the bottom and the shrimp is dragged slowly or slightly twitched to get a response from the lethargic fish.

Colors like the new Figi Chicken, New Penny, and Morning Glory are working well in stained or turbid conditions, and when fishing clear water, clear holographic and Watermelon/Clear holographic produce well.

My old standby color, night glow, continues to produce well. Redfish have backed off on the bite in south Tampa Bay lately. Fish are skittish coming off last weekend's full moon. Most are laid up in shallow water sunning themselves on the mud flats. When approached, they'll blow out.

Ray Markham co-hosts "Florida Sportsman Magazine Radio Live," Saturdays from 7-8 a.m. on ESPN 1040 AM, and can be reached for charter at (941) 723-2655.

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