Fishing with Capt. George Tunison | Where to find fish when it’s cold


Capt. George Tunison
Be it fresh or salt, nothing shuts down shallow-water fishing in Florida like a massive cold front. With a predicted 38 degrees Saturday morning start, largemouth bass are bundled up, snook are sneezing, trout are trembling and even cold tolerant sheepshead are shivering.
Fortunately, and especially for Florida’s snook population, the coming week will give us a break with predicted highs back in the 80s. Those living here in 2010 saw first-hand what prolonged cold can do to our sub-tropical snook population with an estimated half million-plus snook killed statewide, along with many tarpon deaths as well.
When the weather calms down, sheepshead fishing should be hot and taking off at a bridge, oyster bar, mangrove point or dock. Don’t forget that if you want to stay out of the wind, some amazing sheepie fishing often takes place each winter in downtown Cape Coral. Use your state-of-the-art electronics to probe the canal systems for sheepshead holding structure and you will probably find quite a few willing to bite. There’s a 12-inch size limit and each person can keep up to eight fish per day. If you don’t have fiddlers for bait, small bits of shrimp, clams and oysters fill the bill.
For the “I’d rather catch one fish on a lure than three on bait” purist type, stop by D & D Bait & Tackle in Matlacha and grab a fistful of imitation fiddler crabs and slow walk them on the bottom around bridge and dock structures and hang on. Light line and leaders catch more fish but big double-digit sheepies also patrol the same territory and these guys fight hard in close quarters combat, so do your best to power them up and away from line-shredding concrete and barnacles. Never overlook oyster bars and deep cuts on mangrove points for various sized sheepies as well.
Prolonged cold weather will push fish off the flats into marinas, deep creeks and channels, Cape canals, far up river or even deeper offshore.
For schooling trout, real cold snaps can actually improve the angler’s odds as it bunches the fish in predictable locations and once found these same locations will produce year after year.
A good example is Matlacha Pass. A really long cold spell will push the trout off the flats and into deeper and warmer waters of the channel. Use your jig and starting at the bridge, slowly hop and drop down the edges of the channel walls till you find a large school or, throw a live shrimp on a light jighead and slowly mend line as the shrimp sinks and kicks.
Try trout along the channel in front of blown-away Bert’s Bar and other now empty docks as well.
Slow fished soft plastics and DOA Shrimp rigged on 1/8 to 3/8-ounce light wire jig heads are potent cold water period medicine. Pick your favorite color and cast. Try smelly GULP products and also adding commercial bottled scents to any lure always helps wintertime plastic tempt cold, yet always hungry, trout.
Try fishing a live shrimp on a jig head but do it right so it doesn’t spin on the cast causing line twist. Cut the shrimp’s tail off and rig backwards so the jig head is at the tail of the shrimp for best results. Fish or crawl this ultra slowly along the bottom with frequent 5 second pauses
Rigging a live shrimp just under the horn and not through its dark spot allows the shrimp to fall naturally as it sinks on a jighead or just a small hook along with a split shot or two to slowly sink it.
Wind and weather permitting, the coming week may provide the opportunity for a near shore or deep water trip to bring home some tasty treats for the table.
Before going offshore, make sure communications and safety gear are in tip-top working condition.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at 239-579-0461 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.