February Fishing Forecast – Northeast Florida

Wow what a difference a year makes! Last year at this time we were talking about how great it was because of the warmer than usual temperatures. This year we’ve just about had to bust out the snow shoes… Global warming huh? Well as much as I don’t like cold weather I love what it does to our redfish. The colder it gets the tighter the reds will be schooled up, usually eagerly awaiting to chew on whatever you toss at them. Even though the cold water seems to fire up the reds there’s a few things you can do that will increase your hookup ratio. A small paddle-tail or soft plastic shrimp like those offered from Fishbite’s are just the right size this time of year. Reds will be looking for tiny shrimp, fiddler crabs, and smaller minnows so try to “match the hatch” as they say. The water should be at it’s clearest this time of year so If you’re fishing shallow go light and use an 1/8 ounce predator style jighead from Slayer Inc.. One reason I prefer to use the Slayer Inc. line of jigheads is because you can get the lighter weight jigs with a strong 4/0 hook. A larger gap hook is key for a solid hookset on a big redfish. Sometimes even an unweighted soft plastic will work best this time of year as the fish will sometimes be a little spooky due to the clear water. At low tide try jigging the deepest creek holes with the above mentioned baits (with a 1/4 or 3/8oz jighead). The fish will stack in these holes, especially during the winter time negative low tides. A negative low tide is a great time to go out and do some scouting as well. You’ll find oyster bars and troughs that you never knew were there. Remember where those oyster bars and darker mud bottom areas are. That way when you go back at a higher tide stage you know where to make a cast to. Redfish will be looking for areas like that to warm up on cold winter days and the warmer they are the more likely they’ll be to feed on whatever you’re tossing at them.

January was a good month for black drum and sheepshead and it should continue to be good through February. A piece of fresh dead shrimp on a smaller circle hook or jighead is the go-to bait for the drum. The pinfish have sometimes been relentless this past month, stealing the shrimp before it even reaches the bottom. A few other baits that get a drums attention and seem to last a little longer on the bottom are clams, oyster crabs, or Fishbites Fish’n strips. The low end of the tide seems to be best and the deeper the creek hole the better. Fiddler crabs will also get a drums attention but are really candy for sheepshead. Some lunker sized sheepies will come from the Bridge of Lions and the St. Augustine and Matanzas inlets this month. Try fishing the slack tides as it will make it easier to feel the toothy critters slurp up your bait.

As long as it doesn’t get too cold the trout should still be lurking along the ICW edges, creek mouths, and just about anywhere with moving water. If you find one there will likely be more in the same spot. Small jigs and the good ‘ol live shrimp under a popping cork should make for some steady action… just remember trout season is closed this month so it’s catch and release only until March. I was lucky enough to be on the water just about everyday this past month and didn’t see many frozen snook floating around… after what seemed like one of the best summers (2009) in recent history for snook in our region lets hope they made a mad dash for warmer water.