Winter fishing is a fun time when it’s not so cold we all are freezing, fish included. The 2017/18 year resembles that of the 2009/10 freeze in a lot of ways and we are only 16 days into January. I have seen freezing rain turn into a full on ice storm and it snowed here on the Georgia Coast for the first time since 1989.
Fish are struggling with this cold just like I am and its sad to say but it will have an impacted on fisheries from Virginia to Florida. Trout have already been seen floating down creeks and in bay here on the coast. Local commercial crabbers and shrimpers here in Georgia have reported dead fish, shrimp, and crabs in their nets and pots from the cold. Social media is full of videos of dead fish floating and frozen in ice. It’s sad to say the least and we as fishermen should KEEP THIS IN MIND when deciding to take home a mess of fish for dinner.
The fisheries will rebound in all these places in time and will do it much faster with our help. I am about to head out now and see if I cant go catch a few redfish before the next freeze (tonight) gets here. Thanks for reading. Please catch and release. Do the right thing if this cold weather has affected your fishery. I hope its not as bad as it was after the 2009/10 freeze.
A few fish from home and our travels this fall/winter.
Capt. Scott with a nice South Florida Everglades Bass.
Will with a very respectable snook in the shallow flats of the Everglades.
Capt. Scott with a nice juvenile tarpon on fly in the Florida Evergladers.
these little black drum have been plentiful the last few years in Coastal Geoegia
Many trout and redfish were caught and released just before the hard freeze. Hope some of them make it through winter.
a very cold sunset with a cold front approaching that put temps into the low 20’s
@chasintail ‘s own Ashley with a wintertime trout! Go check out their gear at chasintail.com
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Nice trout way way back in a creek here in Coastal Georgia.
Trying to help the stock with research. If you catch a tagged fish please measure, release, and report. Thank you.
