Capt.PeteRowney
01-14-2006, 05:13 PM
Hello from the Florida Keys. The new year has been off to a great start up until today. It's blowing at least thirty right now and I'm watching the air temp drop as another front moves along. The water looks like chocolate milk and it will probably take a couple of tide cycles for things to clear. Pretty typical for our winters down here. For the angler planning on coming down to the Florida Keys for that dream trip, keep in mind that while the weather here may seem warm compared to your northern climes it is still winter and the fish know it. That isn't to say that you can't find some of the big three: bonefish, permit and tarpon in January and February, it just means that sometimes they just aren't a realistic target when water temps plummet and things get really stirred up. That being said, a nice span of weather can get things fired up in a heartbeat. A couple of days after my last post, we had a couple of pretty good days bonefishing on the oceanside. Clear conditions and reasonable winds made it doable. Not that it was easy, however. We had some very skittish fish and a fair number of the shots made on them were ignored or the fish blew out. We had 2/3 of a Grand Slam- a bone and tarpon but couldn't find a permit to complete it. As conditions changed and the water temps dropped some of the banks in the Gulf provided good trout action as well as some reds and black drum. Finally made it up to the Shark River area. It was my first trip up there since Wilma. Let me tell you, the place looks like a wasteland. It is going to take years for that shoreline to recover. Many of my favorite spots have changed dramatically. That being said though, we still had great fishing. I think we must have caught every trout in the Gulf. And they were all chunks! Some small snook and reds were to be had as well as some baby tarpon in some of the creeks. Had some fun throwing plugs at some very large sharks just for laughs. This wind is supposed to continue through tomorrow so hopefully I'll be on the water Monday. Until next time. -Pete