By Jimmy Tomazinis
mail@floridanewsline.com
Happy New Year! Here’s to hoping 2024 is a great one for all of you. Now let’s look back on 2023 and see how we can further the goals that we set last year. I unfortunately did not get my river tarpon last year. I did see more than I have in years past and I actually jumped one, but I had to journey downtown to do it. I was hoping for one closer to home. I spent more time chasing them in the surf and I think if I had spent that much time in the river it may have been different. Keep your eyes on the prize as they say. So I’ll be balancing my time better this year, especially in September. Long story short, I’ll be having the same goal in 2024 — river tarpon or bust.
How about you? Did you achieve your goal(s) last year? If you’re in the same boat as me at least you learned something to apply this year. That’s a powerful thing and why it’s okay to set lofty goals since the lessons you learn along the way are truly what you’re after in the end. Maybe. A nice fish is a nice fish after all. Let’s get after them then.
While you can still throw a shrimp net this month, it may be too cold and possibly not worth the effort for the few shrimp that are still around. Most of the forage we have this time of year are herring and shad which you can catch in a cast net, but they are not hardy baits. If you’re wanting to target their predators as in stripers, flounder, and redfish, it might be better to throw a swim bait or Rat-L-Trap to imitate the bait fish. I like to “jig” a Rat-L-Trap to make it look like a cold stunned bait fish but remember to slow everything down. Winter fishing demands patience.
Speck fishing has been pretty good and more and more big fish should be showing up in the creeks every day. We’ve been catching them on minnows and jigs. Chartreuse is always a productive color, but silver has also been producing. If conditions allow, don’t neglect trying the main river for them. They’re eating the herring and shad too. If you’re not getting snagged now and then you’re not speck fishing. Tight lines.
