# Still too cold...



## Brett

Too cold down in Palm Coast also.
Water is extremely clear,
but finding feeding fish didn't happen.


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## pole_position

You are fly fishing out of a yak or canoe? Hey we are neighbors I launch at green rd and get bait from the same fish camp sometimes.


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## margarcia305

dont worry too much, the bones and permit down here are also all gone. these have been the worst three months of my life
went to chokoloskee yesterday and caught...nothing! saw one black drum in the 30lb range on a flat but he wanted nothing to do with us


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## DSampiero

Wow, it's the Lazarus thread ;D. I expect go things in a month or two. Still throwing live or fresh dead bait(primarily), threw fly last weekend, no hookups two hits on top water..
:-/


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## Gator_Bob

Most of the reds can be found in the shallow creeks with dark mud bottoms that warm the water up. The deeper water will not warm up like this. Position your canoe as far up the creek as you can on low tide and wait for an incoming tide. The reds will follow the tide and you will be waiting for them and less chance of spooking them. Also look for oyster bars on the inside bend of the creek (at low tide) and fish this on an incoming tide. Remember to fish you lure with the current as the fish are looking for the bait thats coming in, not out.


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## Brett

*Re: Still too cold...Not!*

Good news is, the water temps are above 70 again in the backcountry of NE Florida.
I'm finding reds, trout and sheepshead on my afternoon trips now.
They're no longer hunting warm water, they're hunting food.
Note, I did not claim to be catching said fish, just finding them.

I wonder why?


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## deerfly

*Re: Still too cold...Not!*



> Note, I did not claim to be catching said fish, just finding them.
> 
> I wonder why?


my guess is reds don't eat black bass imitations.  ;D


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## mark_gardner

i dont know man :-/ i'm still not sure i understand this hookless lure gig you've got going on   ;D


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## Brett

*Re: Still too cold...Not!*

Deerfly, I get so far back in the creeks that I find bass and reds together.
The water gets that fresh, so a baby bass plug will get smacked regularly.




> i'm still not sure  i understand this hookless lure gig you've got going on


Serious guilt trip on my side of the fishing reel.
From 1961 until 2001 I was a meat fisherman.
Fishing rod'n'reel or diving with hawaiian sling,
the object of every trip was to fill the cooler.
It's how we stretched the family budget to fit
the length of the month. Sport fishing was for
white collar budgets, not blue collar families.
What we caught got cleaned and eaten,
not played with and released. Different times back then.
Now I can afford to leave the fish in the water,
so rather than cause 'em stress for my entertainment,
I get my grins from finding them, and getting them to
take a swing at lures without a swarm of hooks attached.
That blowup on top is what makes my day now.

                                   

That and going into waters that most people never get to see.


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## deerfly

*Re: Still too cold...Not!*



> Deerfly, I get so far back in the creeks that I find bass and reds together.
> The water gets that fresh, so a baby bass plug will get smacked regularly.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> i'm still not sure  i understand this hookless lure gig you've got going on
> 
> 
> 
> Serious guilt trip on my side of the fishing reel.
> From 1961 until 2001 I was a meat fisherman.
> Fishing rod'n'reel or diving with hawaiian sling,
> the object of every trip was to fill the cooler.
> It's how we stretched the family budget to fit
> the length of the month. Sport fishing was for
> white collar budgets, not blue collar families.
> What we caught got cleaned and eaten,
> not played with and released. Different times back then.
> Now I can afford to leave the fish in the water,
> so rather than cause 'em stress for my entertainment,
> I get my grins from finding them, and getting them to
> take a swing at lures without a swarm of hooks attached.
> That blowup on top is what makes my day now.
> 
> 
> 
> That and going into waters that most people never get to see.
Click to expand...

yeah, I'm sure red's co-mingle in certain areas with bass although I've only ever seen snook, tarpon and bass in the same place in S. Fl and the glades. I'm sure red's will eat juvi bass and pretty much anything else too where ever you find them.

That's a great reminder on the meat fishing back in the day too, so true. Not only to feed the family, but a full cooler was something to boast about with your friends and and fishing buddies as a true sign of fishing prowess. Regretfully, we didn't take too many pictures back then either or there may have been more releasing going on or at least starting the trend sooner. Pictures in my circles was usually only for something extraordinary like 2 full coolers of fish or visiting relatives in town.  ;D

Then there was all sorts of dead fish nailed to boards at charter docs and pic's of same in the local newspapers. Back then even the Miami Herald posted lot's of dead fish during the MET each year. Official weigh stations were synonymous with dead fish and I did my share of killin' too in the zeal for a competing entry.  :-[

To our credit though we did monitor who was catching what in the various divisions we were competing in and wouldn't bother to bring something in to weigh unless we thought it would beat the current standing.

Oh well, I'm definitely glad its very different now, but I really think you owe it to yourself to drag one back to the boat now again. I'll send you some hooks if ya need em.


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## Brett

*Re: Still too cold...Not!*

Thanks for the offer Deerfly... ;D

I still meat fish on occasion, but it's a situation
where the wife makes a request for a seafood dinner.
Sunday morning I grabbed my surf rod, coffee and did
sunrise at the beach. Circle hooks and fresh shrimp
produced 4 whiting and a barely legal black drum
in about an hour and a half. More than enough fillets
for the two of us. No boat to clean, pan sized fish,
all white meat, easy to fillet and cook.
Take only what we'll eat that day.
Catch 'em in the morning, eating them for lunch.
No leftovers, no freezer burn, tasty!


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