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February Is Usually A Good Time To Fish For Jacks

Photo by FRED EVERSON

While bottom fishing with live shrimp on the Bahia Beach Reef, Tom Rinehart of Apollo Beach caught this sheepshead.

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By FRED EVERSON

Tribune correspondent

Published: February 4, 2009

A precipitous drop in water temperature at the end of last month shut most fishing down for a few days. It was clear and cold for nearly a week, but not cold enough to kill any fish. At least I heard no such reports. The water temperature got as low as 57 degrees in the gulf, but it climbed back to 62 a few days later. If that's winter's best shot, we'll take it.

As the water temperature rises, look for big schools of jacks to show up between the mouth of the Little Manatee River and the Tampa Electric Co. plant in Apollo Beach.

February usually is a good month to see jacks ravaging schools of bait on the surface all over the bay. These fish can run big in the winter months - 15-pounders are common. I always will tangle with a couple of such fish when I see them, but that's usually enough. On open water flats tackle, it can take up to 45 minutes to land big ones.

Water clarity is as good as it ever gets on Tampa Bay, thanks to the recent cold fronts. When the temperature drops into the 50s, it kills off what little plant life is left in the water column, which gets gin-clear. This presents great sight-fishing opportunities off the southern shores of Tampa Bay, from the mouth of the Alafia River all the way to the Sunshine Skyway.

An extremely low winter tide pushes fish out over bare sand where you can see them, but they stay in water so shallow that most bay boats can't get at them. If your boat draws more than 12 inches of water, the only way to catch these fish is from a canoe or kayak, or to wade to them. If the bottom is clear, getting off the boat is a good option.

In the clear shallow water, you can find redfish, flounder, bonnethead sharks, ladyfish and jack crevalle. And if the water temperature rises into the high 60s, you can add snook and trout into the mix.

Seeing the fish is much easier than catching them, however. Long, accurate casts are required to catch spooky fish in clear shallow water.

Sheepshead will be spawning all month around hard bottom all over the bay. The easiest places to find them will be the artificial reefs at Port Manatee and Bahia Beach. Live shrimp fished on the bottom are the most productive live baits. Small shrimp, or even cut pieces of shrimp on No. 1 circle-hooks will catch them. Just make sure the hooks are rugged enough to stand up to the sheepshead's impressive array of dentures.

I haven't had many trout reports as yet, but that should begin to change as long as the weather stays warm. Trout like the deeper edges of a flat and a grassy bottom.

That's why Pinellas Point offers some of the best trout fishing on Tampa Bay. The water there is always clear because of the flow it gets from its proximity to the mouth of the bay, and the bottom is covered with lush seagrass, making this ideal trout habitat.

Fred Everson is a Ruskin fishing guide. All South Shore fishermen and guides may submit information and photographs to be included in this column by calling (813) 830-8890 or sending an e-mail to ihuntsnook@aol.com.

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