Reel Anglers Fishing Club
Longer Days – More Time to Fish!
While February still has its cool days the trend is definitely warming up. There is also a shifting fishery. I would still suggest starting a little later in the morning and fishing into the late afternoon. If you were successful in January, you should follow pretty much the same pattern.
This is probably the last peak month for Sheepshead fishing. As the water warms these fish will be moving to the near shore reefs before they start to scatter to who knows where. If you want to target snook, concentrate on the warming days and evenings.
This is a great time to work the dock lights at night. Please, please be respectful of the dock owners. While it is tempting to cast into the light, that is NOT where the fish feed. The fish feed on the edges or towards the bottom of the lighted area. You never know what you are going to catch. Snook are always a favorite but remember the season is closed until March 1st.
Trout, redfish, black drum and mangrove snapper could all be in the mix. This is definitely time to match the hatch! You don’t often see big pinfish or pilchards in the light. Most of the time you will find small baitfish and shrimp in the lights. That means downsizing your baits if using artificial lures. Make sure your presentation is natural. Let the current take the offering to the fish. Feeding fish will be facing the current.
A few years back I was at a family outing, and the dock was holding legal sized snook under the lights. I tried almost everything in my tackle box to no avail. My sister took a 2-inch gulp minnow I used for catching crappies, put it on a small jig and drifted it under the dock. It was an almost immediate hook up. Match the hatch!
If you are a shore angler, the choices have been reduced due to the hurricanes and slow-moving bureaucracy. We lost the docks at Cape Coral, Ft. Myers, Naples, Sanibel and Bokeelia. Some of these docks don’t even have the engineering studies completed, so no telling when they will be rebuilt.
On the bright side the Sanibel Causeway islands have been reopened as well as the beaches on Sanibel and Captiva. On the natural beaches there is usually a deeper trough right off shore. The trough often holds good fish. This time of the year the snook are absent but whiting, pompano, redfish, trout and ladyfish are on the prowl. If baitfish show up on the beach you will often find Spanish mackerel within casting distance.
There is no excuse not to go fishing!
If you are interesting on learning more about our local waters and fishery, I invite you to visit the Reel Anglers Fishing Club at our monthly meeting at the Cape Coral Power Squadron. We meet at six PM the second Wednesday.
I hope to see you there or on the water!
Dan Carney
President
Reel Anglers Fishing Club
www.reelanglersfishingclub.com
