REPORT:
Jan 13, 2001
Boca Grande Fishing Report
Cold weather has effected everyone except the fish. To them this is business as usual. We certainly don't like the cold, but this is not unusual for fish. They still eat, still swim and still bite. They just do it slowly, deliberately and only at the warmest part of their daily cycle. Some fish don't react well to cold weather, especially snook.
Peter and Kathy Smith brought mother Lorraine to Boca Grande to fish recently and found more snook than you can shake a stick at. Not one would even look at a fly. They would barely move at all. We decided to leave them alone as soon as I saw their stress. Now, a change of venue to dark bottom water with good tidal flow allowed us to take all the trout we wanted and a few redfish to boot.
Fishing with Jess Jones and his friend Bill, this week was tougher. Jess and Bill managed a few redfish, a couple dozen trout and a bunch of ladyfish on flies and jigs. We had to work for every fish. I moved at least ten times trying to find fish that would be consistent. Although the day was nice, the water temp never got over 59 degrees.
The Prognosticator says we will see more activity from these finny rascals this week. As the water warms a bit the fish will be trying to regain the fat they lost during the cold spell. Starting Monday we should see a much improved fishery.
Don't forget to check the web site for the dates for the 2001 Flyfishing Schools
Tight Lines, Capt. Pete