Gulf fishing can be a winter wonderland

It's almost like the fish expect the Gulf of Mexico to freeze over.

As fall turns to Florida's version of winter, the passes and nearshore waters start to churn with mackerel, blues, ladyfish, jacks and other species with only one thing on their minds; stuffing themselves with baitfish as though there's no tomorrow.

For any angler in the right spot at the right time, it's instant fish. Literally acres of fish sometimes surround vast walls of glass minnows and other bait, and catching all you want is mostly a matter of getting a lure over the side—so long as it's the same size and general color as the bait.

Of course, that bait can be remarkably small at this time of year. Many glass minnows, aka bay anchovies, are scarcely an inch long. Throw a 4-inch jig into the melee and you may catch a fish or two, but a tiny fly or crappie jig will catch dozens more.

One of my favorite rigs for this type of fishing is a Carl Hansen glass minnow fly, tied on a length of 30-pound-test hard mono or fluorocarbon to act as bite leader, and finished off with a quarter-ounce rubber-core sinker to add casting weight for a light spinning rod. (Don't use a wire leader—it pretty much stops the bite cold with these small lures.)

Sling this thing where you see breaking fish, reel it back as fast as you can, and you'll catch a fish on nearly every cast—until a mack or a blue snaps at the sinker, which they also try to eat, and cuts you off.

Small lures also work well with this approach—the smallest Mirr-O-Dine, the Tiny Torpedo topwater and other baitfish imitations, all reeled as fast as you can crank. The smallest Tsunami swimbaits are also effective, though once again you may have to add a weight up the leader to cast them.

The action is likely to break out at any pass along our coast, but some that are noted include Clearwater and Blind Pass, Longboat, New and Sarasota passes, Venice, Captiva and Redfish. Notably absent are Egmont and Boca Grande, the two largest passes on our coast—although a winter bite does break out in these big flows, for whatever reason it seems usually more intense in the smaller cuts and along the nearby beaches.

Action peaks on tide flows, and both incoming and outgoing tides can be good. In passes where a break-line forms on the outflow between the darker inshore water and the light green Gulf water, this seam can be a good place to start looking for fish until you see some breaking on top.

Oddly enough, all the species of fish tend to mingle here; usually you find ladyfish staying clear of macks and blues, but it's common to catch a blue on one cast and a lady on the next and a mack on the third. Of course, now and then you catch a ladyfish with his tail chopped off, too—and it's not unheard of to hook up with a late king mackerel on the outside of these passes around the breaking fish.

This is one form of winter action that does not depend all that much on the weather; though extreme wind and muddy water will shut it down for a day or two, as soon as the water calms and clears the bait comes back and so do the fish.

For those not used to catching bluefish—they're a rare catch around Tampa Bay at other times of year—be aware that this species, like mangrove snapper, will actively try to bite your fingers as well as your lures; use longnose pliers and be alert when handling them.

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Those who crab on Tampa Bay, either recreationally or commercially, are invited to a free clinic on protecting diamondback terrapins from accidentally being caught in their traps. According to George Heinrich of Heinrich ecological Services, this is thought to be having a major impact on this rare species along brackish coastlines. Those who attend the clinic will be offered free bycatch reduction devices to install on their crab pots, or can have the BRD's installed on their traps free by volunteers. One session is Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon at Upper Tampa Bay Park, 8001 Double Branch Road in Tampa, the second on Saturday, Dec. 17 at Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve, 3709 Gulf City Road in Ruskin. For added info, call (727) 865-6255 or email george@heinrichecologicalservices.com.