Nature Coast, William Toney

First I would like to apologize to all three of the anglers who read

my report, that is including my mother. I had hard thoughts this past

week if I choose the right profession because the weather made me

think “Mmm” desk job in a warm, windless environment would feel good.

All kidding aside this winter has been a roller coaster ride of

weather that has all of us guessing what is coming next. Like they say

if you don’t like the weather in Florida just wait a minute.

To put some diner on the table and save some money on gas stick to

fishing in the rivers, major creeks and backcountry holes. Slow and

methodical is the best approach and I say this because there will be a

temperature range that varies ever day that moves east or west that

game fish will follow. Live shrimp is the best bait and I use a 1/8

oz. jig head for the hook. Pinch the tail from the shrimp and thread

the bait onto the jig head tail first making sure to push the shrimp

so it hooks into the prongs or keepers on the neck of the jig head,

Species to catch could be black drum, mangrove snapper, sheepshead,

redfish and trout. At any given spot I like to give it at least 15

minutes. Most of the time if fish are there it will happen fairly

quickly but if nobody is home make a move to the next spot west. So

back to the east and west line, I begin close to the ramp and work my

way west. Another factor to make it more confusing is also the warming

of the day. On the Big Bend we have tall trees that block a north wind

but a southern sun can warm a northern bank creating a bite. Dark

shallow bottom can be a warm spot to hold fish. High incoming tide

will be in the morning this weekend