Captain’s Corner, Dave Mistretta

A beautiful stretch of warmer weather is just what the doctor ordered for the state of Florida. This warming trend will help warm the waters to uppers sixties. It was a little too cold last month, especially closer to shore. Anglers were traveling at least 10 miles out to find adequate bottom fishing. Inside that distance, some spots seemed baron.Florida fish don’t take to well to major drops in water temps. Normally you will see a definite decline in the action when water temps drop 5 degrees in a matter of a few days.

 It will often take the fish a few days to get their appetite back. This long stretch of warm weather in our forecast is enlightening. Above average temps will surely warm things up in all depths, allowing anglers to get a better grasp of what swimming below. Winter is not over by any means yet, but if the weather stays mild, we could see early migrations of fish within 2 weeks.  Water temps above 68 degrees will allow more options.

 March is normally the month water temps creep from mid-sixties to the magical 70-degree mark.  When this occurs, an early migration of kingfish arrives to our area. The migration will spotty. “Here today gone tomorrow” type of action. But when you locate these massive schools of migratory kings, it will be of epic proportion. Thousands of hungry kings will be devouring everything presented in front of the path. This normally happens somewhere in the 40 to 70-foot depths.   Occasionally, we will witness this extraordinary event in late February if water temps reach the magic number of 70. It all depends on how long this current warming trend will hold up.  One thing for sure is that spring is right around the corner.