The flats fishing in the winter on the west coast of Florida can be the most productive time of the year. We target snook, redfish, trout, and small tarpon. The trout fish is probably the most productive target in the winter. We target them on the shallow flats on the warmer days and deeper holes on the cold days. Most of the action is on artificial lures such as jigs, and hard plastic plugs. We also will use live shrimp or creek cub under a cork. On a resent trip we boated over 75 trout on a 3 hour trip with some of the fish up to 26 inches long.
The snook and baby tarpon are in the rivers and deep water canals. They gather up in these areas to seek warmer water and easy meals. We target them with live shrimp and jigs with plastic paddle tails. I like to fish for them on the lower tides and cloudy days.
The redfish are generally in or around the mouths of creeks and rivers. They will move in and out with the tides and warm and cold weather. Most of the action is on spoons, jigs, and plastic jerk baits. If you would like to get in on some winter time flats fishing in Boca Grande contact us today to book a charter!
