Cold weather changes fishing habits in Tampa Bay. But good news is coming, angler says
After an extended period of cold temperatures, the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay waters have been frigid and slow to warm.
On Jan. 26, the coldest water temperatures were recorded. 10 miles offshore at the Egmont Buoy surface temperatures were 52 degrees. 100 miles offshore it fell as low as 68 degrees.
At Port Manatee, water temperatures bottomed out at 44.6 degrees. That’s just about as cold as the bay will get. It took over four days before temperatures finally reached 60 degrees.
One of the biggest fears is fish kills when temperatures reach this cold. Luckily, anglers haven’t seen anything widespread and more of a few localized events. One angler in Ozello posted seeing about 200 dead snook in a two-mile stretch on Jan. 26.
Another report from an angler Travis in Inverness also reported, “Yesterday I saw two dead snook, one was huge (unfortunately) and the other not as big. As much as it did get very cold, it didn’t happen overnight.”
He said the cold temperatures three years ago around Christmas happened quickly, sending fish into a shock, with that event killing “so many 40-inch snook, it hurt my soul.” This year’s gradual cooling helped fish get to warmer areas which are usually springs, rivers and deeper water where they shelter from the cold.
Sustained temperatures below 55 degrees are usually when snook begin to get lethargic. Closer to 50 for extended periods of time is usually a death sentence. In 2010, water temperatures in Tampa Bay were sustained below 60 degrees from Jan. 6 until Jan. 17 and many of those days were in the low 50s.
This devastated the fishery, killing large numbers of snook, trout and many other species which left tight restrictions on the inshore fishery for many years in an attempt to recover.
Anglers have noticed the poor fishing this past week.
“Had to really grind for them today, slow bite and not very active fish,” posted one well-known captain on social media on his first trip offshore since the cold. They had a catch of red grouper and mangrove snapper but far off from normal.
With anglers finally getting offshore in calm waters I saw many captains heading west but not many reports posted. That tells me fishing was slow, as they often report good catches to drive business.
With water temperatures so cold, most fish will be lethargic. This offers opportunities for cold-weather-tolerant fish like sheepshead, trout and redfish which may be more active. A sheepshead tournament this weekend should get good results with warming weather as we head to late winter when the striped fish group up to spawn.
The weeks ahead look like beautiful weather. Land temperatures in the 80s by the middle of the week will quickly warm the waters. As soon as we begin to hit 70 degrees on the bay, snook will migrate out from cold water hideaways and be hungry after their journey. A mild February could be an amazing month to fish.
Those venturing offshore will also see good fishing. It may be slow in the first part of the month, but when temperatures warm, fish will be active and hungry. This includes hogfish, mangrove and yellowtail snapper, red grouper and more.
Spring is great fishing and the recent cold weather will only make it that much better when it warms up.
