Sea trout reopens to bring in the New Year
Cold, windy weather arrived with the Christmas holiday that made it both difficult and miserable to attempt fishing. It was time better spent indoors with the family and getting new Christmas toys prepared for better weather days. Looking back there wasn’t too much to report on fishing over the past week, but looking ahead the first of the year is just about here and that means spotted sea trout season will again reopen.
Sea trout are the most popular saltwater gamefish in the state of Florida, and for good reason, they are abundant, eat a wide assortment of baits and lures, are fun to catch for fishermen of all ages, and best of all, sea trout are excellent table fare. We are lucky, the shallow waters around Pine Island offer some of the best trout fishing in the state and they are caught year round.
With the winter weather dropping the water temperatures, when season opens the best fishing will likely be in deeper inshore waters that offer some protection from the strong north winds. Deep creeks, pot holes, deep pockets around oyster bars, natural channels in protected areas and canals are all good places to begin your hunt. It’s common for trout to come off the flats and seek shelter in these areas and are often stacked up to stay warm. They tolerate the cold well, much better than snook, if you recall we lost much of our snook population last January due to the cold conditions. To tolerate the cold a sea trout’s metabolism will slow way down as they conserve energy and seek out the warmest water possible.
When you think cold water trout fishing remember low and slow. Low, meaning keep the bait as low in the water column as possible, the fish will be staged on bottom, that’s where the water id the warmest. Slow, if you want to catch fish you must have a slow, often very slow retrieve. With a slow metabolism and conserving energy most fish will not expel a lot of effort to chase down bait. If you are not getting your bait low, on or near the bottom or retrieving it slow you just might not catch a fish, even though you are fishing over a pile of them.
My favorite bait rig for a long time for this type of fishing is a simple jig and shrimp combination. Either a whole live shrimp hooked tail first on a jig head or a buck tail jig rigged with a piece of shrimp. A quarter-ounce jig is the most common and works in most situations. To rig a live shrimp on a jig head, bite or pinch the tail off then thread the hook into the tail opening toward the head until the tail end of the shrimp bottoms out on the hook shaft. The point of the hook should exit on the bottom, where the legs are on the shrimp and it should lay relatively straight. Some jigs are made solely for this application and have small barbs on the hook shaft to help hold the shrimp in place. For the buck tail rig a small half inch piece of fresh cut shrimp placed on the hooks shaft or curve is all that’s needed. Both are equally effective on trout and most other fish that might also be seeking warmer water.
A light to medium rod with line around the fifteen pound class and a foot or two of twenty to thirty pound fluorocarbon leader is all that is needed, of course with one of the jig rigs attached to the leader. Work the deep water pockets with long cast and cover the entire area, concentrating near the bottom. A slow jigging retrieve, lifting the rod then allowing the bait to fall back to the bottom, retrieve the slack and repeat is a deadly method for fishing this rig. Don’t expect a real hard strike, most of the time the strike occurs as the bait falls and you will just feel the weight of the fish when you begin your rod lifting jig, that’s when you strike or set the hook.
Regulations for sea trout in southwest Florida are four per angler per day and must measure between fifteen and twenty inches overall length with one fish over twenty inches permitted in the four fish daily limit. For more information on trout and other fish regulations visit www.myfwc.com. If you read this article before the first of the year, remember trout season does not open until January 1st.
I know a lot of anglers are eagerly anticipating the chance to once again catch and eat some fresh trout. The wait is almost over, if it remains cold try the methods we talked about and chances are pretty good you might start the year with a fresh fish dinner.
Wishing all a Happy New Year!
If you have a fishing story or for charter information, please contact us at 239-283-7960 or: www.fishpineisland.com. Have a safe week and good fishin’.