The weather has been a little warmer than usual for February on the East Coast of Florida, but it looks like that is about to change. With a cold front dropping down throughout the south this week, look for the overnight temperatures to be in the low forties. The front will bring a shift in wind direction which will certainly impact the fishing pattern.
With lowering water temperatures, the fish will be looking for warmth from the bottom. The redfish and trout like to gather warmth from the muddy bottoms around oyster beds mud flats in the north around the Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach backwaters. Further south, throughout the Mosquito Lagoon, they choose to gather warmth in the sandy potholes located in the shallows. When targeting these species in cooler water temps you need to down size your bait and slow down the presentation. Small baits like shrimp, finger mullet and small soft plastics are a good choice worked very slowly over the pot holes and mud flats. The water clarity is still great making for some really good sight fishing when the winds allow. Once again, even when sight casting these fish, a slow presentation is KEY to trigger a bite.