By RAY MARKHAM
Published: December 23, 2008
Temperatures are on the rise and periods of extended warm weather are kicking finny appetites into gear.
Water temperatures in the low 70s are credited for the increased action. Some excellent action for specks has been taking place from the Bulkhead at the mouth of the Manatee River north to Mariposa Key.
Potholes with 3 to 4 feet of water over a sandy green hole are producing trout while using the DOA Shrimp in some new colors like Copper Crush and Night Glow with Gold holographic glitter. On a recent half-day trip, we caught and released more than 50 trout, with the largest speck measuring 22 inches.
Ladyfish are making it difficult to get a jig to the bottom, but when we have, flounder have been in our catch. We usually get several legal flatties for the cooler. CAL Jigs with Shad tails have been my top producer for flounder.
The MirrOlip, a new lipped crank bait from MirrOlure has worked well. At 4 to 5 inches in length, the hard bait works well around the rough mouths ladyfish have. We're able to toss the bait out without sacrificing 6 inches of leader every cast, but are still catching some nice trout. When twitched and allowed to float back to the surface, we're even catching some nice redfish on the plug.
Another new lure I'm throwing is the Money Minnow, a custom hand-carved cedar lure from Dunnellon captain David Jefford (www.lureman.com). The bait suspends or sinks very slowly and has a tight wobbling vibration that reds, snook, and trout have found irresistible.
The small lure with a single treble casts like a bullet and works well when big trout and reds get shallow.
Ray Markham co-hosts "Florida Sportsman Magazine Radio Live," Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. on 820 AM, and can be reached for charter at (941) 723-2655.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment