What to know if heading south for winter angling

Every year our family goes down to Florida for a trip, and I always make sure we are on a canal, beach or some place that gives my crew an opportunity to fish.

We always go to VRBO or some site to find a house that fits the bill. Hotels? No thanks. The tricky part is deciding on an area to visit that not only allows us to fish, but also to find a salty fish species that’s anxious to allow a northern man to score.

This last winter we went to Cape Coral, Fla., and rented what was probably a $2 million house for a few hundred bucks a night. It had an awesome view of the river that held brackish water, so I had hopes of catching bass, tarpon, snook, redfish and anything else that would eat a shrimp or swim bait.

Tide played a key role. We didn’t catch a ton of fish, but my sons, Hunter and Blake, and my wife Lisa, and Uncle Rick and Aunt Donna, quickly found out if we wanted a fish that would pull, catfish were eager and sting rays were annoying.

I went to a local bait shop, Crazy Lure Bait and Tackle, and spoke with the owner, Brian Dunn, who also had a wicked good BBQ truck on site, to ask what us land-lopers could catch in those parts.

“Cape Coral is better at certain times of the year,” Dunn said. “Also, certain species of fish, like tarpon or reds, are migrating. From the end of March until the beginning of June, we see the tarpon come. Boca Grand Pass and Charlotte Harbor are one of the premier tarpon fishing areas in Florida. For bait, floating a crab would be the best option from the bank. Then chunk ladyfish will do the trick. Also, the Caloosahatchee River sees its own share of tarpon move in.”

Like fishing back home, Dunn said water temperature plays a key role in catching fish.

“As the water warms up snook fishing turns on,” he said. “Snook are very temperature sensitive fish so the cold water does not agree with them. But there are still some around during the winter. We start seeing much bigger ones as the water warms. When the water is cold, shrimp works the best for these fish, but as the water warms up, they’ll be more inclined to chase bigger live baits like pinfish and threadfin.”

We knew that if we wanted to really get on some fish, we had to get a charter. We opted for Capt. James Creutz, of Fire Drill Charters, of Nokomis, Fla. My dad and I knew Creutz from other trips, and although it was a 90-minute drive to get to his port, we knew it would be worth it. The gals elected to shop in the area while the guys went fishing.

“I will tell you what, anytime you go out into the ocean, there is always a chance you won’t come back,” Creutz said. “But us captains make sure you do.”

Comforting.

We went out into the gulf and his Suzuki outboards hammered for almost an hour before he finally hit the waypoints he was looking for.

“The thing is,” he said, “we are using shrimp because everything out here eats them. It could be a 1-pound drum or a giant grouper, but one thing I’ll tell you is get that fish off the bottom as fast as you can, because on the bottom is where bad things happen. You’ll get cut off in a second if you don’t get them up.”

Hunter was the first to get his line down. In a second, he was hooked up.

“JUST REEL Hunter, don’t set the hook,” Creutz barked.

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We all had to get used to the circle hooks. As Creutz mocked me gently for setting the hook like a bass angler working a Texas rig, and missing several fish, it was obvious us northerners had to adapt and slow down. Just not too slow.

“You lost another rig because you reeled too gently,” he said. “Put some legs into it.”

The next time I hooked up I reeled as hard as my heart and forearms could handle without rupturing. I still lost the fish and got the business from Creutz. Lucky for all of us, he lost one, too. I fired off a comment not suitable to print.

He looked at me and laughed, but I would be lying if I didn’t think he might gut me like every sting ray we caught.

“Sharks gotta eat, too,” he said, emotionless.

The action was non-stop at each new waypoint. The abyss of the ocean made everything look the same, but Creutz new the subtle differences of the bottom.

“Any little crease in the bottom holds fish,” he said. “We captains have a milk run of spots and good guides don’t wear out their spots.”

We caught eight species of fish, and like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, you never knew what you were going to get. That made it fun. And, we knew not to lip anything like it was a bass back home in Oneida County. As my dad always told me, when fishing the ocean, everything bites or stings.

Make sure if you plan to book a trip around fishing, you know the area you plan to visit. Spend some time learning which species have open seasons during your visit and ask how long of a boat ride is needed to reach them.

In reality, fishing from the bank of a river is a guessing game, but if you know what is “running” at that time of year, the guess work can pay off.