We sure have been having a mild winter here on the Emerald Coast. With this the Flounder are still in the Gulf on the near shore reefs in 45 foot of water. Use bull minnows or finger mullet for bait.
Sight fishing for Bull Red Fish on the Beach when the wind is blowing the right way is getting better. Look for them in 5 to 10 foot of water and use small spoons or SPRO’s ½ or ¾ ounce bucktail jigs. The most productive way to entice one to the boat is a well-placed cast with a fly.
There are lots of Little Tunny on the beach and around the passes in the rip currents. Fly casters are having the best luck with these speedsters for they are gorging themselves on the tiniest glass minnows right now.
Speckled Trout are in the bayous and canals (mostly small but still some keepers mixed in). If White Trout interest you look in the bays on the deep structure (bridges and bay reefs), small silver spoons will catch them with ease.
You can catch and release all the Red Snapper you want on the near shore and bay reefs. Rig up for Trigger fish while you’re there, last time out I caught several nice ones. (Yummy)
Some big schools of Bull Red Fish are still in the Bays, watch for the birds. They’ll give up their location in a heartbeat. Don’t be fooled by the loons though, there are an abundance of those critters here now and can cause quite the commotion.
Head north to the river basins for the most productive bite on Speckled Trout, just a mile or so up the rivers and out to the flats where they dump into the bays and you should catch all the specks you want right now. Slow troll a sinking mirror lure or a jig head and grub tail to locate them. Once you find them anchor up and see what you can do with them. Remember that you can keep the Specks in February now.
Spring Break will be here before you know it. If you have any questions about this great place that I live, feel free to call anytime.
Thanks for reading my reports.
Capt. Eddie