We have seen some really low water temperatures since Christmas. The water temps have been as low as 49 degrees. The fish really don’t care for that much. I had a couple trips where we hit everything and came up short, that don’t happen often. I start panicking and running around looking for fish that are biting. We had some good bites and missed fish which hurts on slow days. I had some really great customers which understood the situation although I don’t like the situation.
I did have a banner day last week in the back country on a day it warmed up a bit. The air was 60 in the morning and water was still only 67-70 degrees all day. We had a handful of small Snook early. and a quality Snook bite as the tide switched. We had 3 big Snook bites and a couple 25 lb. Tarpon and some 5lb Jacks and a nice Spanish Mackerel in a 30-minute period. We also trolled up a nice Gag Grouper back in the rivers. The low water temps drives them into rivers.
As I am writing this report, we are getting a major cold front pushing thru and temps are going down to lows 40’s tomorrow Jan-14. It’s supposed to warm up next week but there is a very good chance of another fish kill with the low water temps.
The last cold front was tough on Snook, Tarpon, Goliath Groupers and Peacock Bass, there were pretty good numbers of floating fish.
When it warms up the big Tarpon will return to backcountry and the Snook will turn on. They will remain in deeper water until it warms up.
If you are thinking about fishing in South Florida, Everglades National Park (Flamingo) is a great choice. There are plenty of fish down there, as well as in Biscayne Bay and the Patch reefs off of Key Largo. If you have a desire to fish down here, give me a call. I am sure I can put you some rod bending fun. Caught Lookin Charters is a family friendly Charter and kid friendly. give me a call at 305 333 8149 and book a trip.
Let’s go catch’em
Capt. Jim Hobales
Instagram @caught lookin charters
