http://www.tampabay.com/sports/outdoors/Captain-s-Corner-Temperature-changes-affect-fly-fishing_166292414
Having a fantastic river trip one day where we caught a lot of snook in shallow water on a fly and going back to the same location three days later and not finding any cooperative fish can be very puzzling. What happened? Recent warm weather was replaced by continuous cold fronts. My water temperature gauge read 74 the same time on the first day and 66 the second day. Fish that love tropical temperatures that were hitting baitfish patterns as well as poppers with enthusiasm had now vacated the shallows. We continued to ply sunny shorelines, structure and docks that previously produced, but to no avail. Baitfish were totally absent where previously the fly hitting the water would spook them. I moved to the closest deep water, which happened to be a large 15-foot hole, and began to see baitfish on my depth finder. Switching from a floating line to a full-sinking or sinking tip line with a weighted baitfish pattern started to produce fish. Deeper structure such as large trees that had fallen into the water gave us some sight-fishing opportunities as some lethargic snook were starting to appear from the depths and water continued to warm later in the day. The diminished tide allowed the slow-moving water to absorb more heat making it more friendly to baitfish and predators. A sudden water temperature change always requires some adjustments.
Fly fisherman Pat Damico runs charters in lower Tampa Bay and can be reached at captpatdamico.com or (727) 504-8649.
- Capiains Corner. Damico - December 26, 2023
- Pat Damico - December 21, 2023
- CaptainsCorner: Pat Damico - November 27, 2023
