Even with the weather, there are some anglers making it offshore on good days. From North Florida to the Carolinas, sea bass continue to be the mainstay on near shore artificial reefs. Boats making it farther offshore have a good shot at some big gag grouper and legal red snapper where the water temperatures warms near the bottom. Big bull redfish continue to hang on the closer in artificial reefs. Unfortunately catching a big red like this generally means the fish will die. These are shallow water fish not accustomed to adjusting their internal air bladder from deeper water. Most of these reds will have their air bladder either burst or distended from their mouth.
In South Florida, the winter fishing pattern continues with good catches of sailfish and smoker size kingfish. Yellowtail fishing off the humps and ledges on the keys should be picking up this month as well. Flats fishing is off and on, depending on the temperature of the water. One good cold front can shut down the flats for several days.
All in all it’s a pretty typical February fishing pattern. For the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico grouper anglers, the gags are in a holding pattern, preparing to head for their annual spawning ritual. March and April should be good months for grouper fishing. Take care to release small fish, and believe it or not – the very large fish as well. Big brood fish are the mainstay of a healthy breeding population.
Hope your trip this week is a good one! Let me know what you catch. Send me a picture (.jpg) via email and we will get it posted for you to brag about!
