Resilience is one trademark of big black drum. These fish can handle colder temperatures better than many of the other gamefish species that we target in the wintertime here on the Space Coast. Ok, so we’re coming out of the coldest week of the year, and everyone is worried about the snook. Yes, we lost a few, but no it doesn’t seem to be as bad as it was in the last hard winter that we had 15 years ago. What is truly a blessing for us is that we still have very good numbers of other species like black drum, redfish, and pompano to fish for this month. These three species in particular usually tolerate colder water temps and continue to provide viable targets for my charter customers. We just have to adjust our fishing style to take advantage of the fish that do want to cooperate. Here are three of the things that I do to increase my customer catches when it gets really cold:

1) Downsize your offering. Fish rely on small meals that can be digested easier than larger ones they would eat when it’s warmer. The reason is because their metabolism slows in cold conditions.

2) Use natural bait instead of lures. Small live or fresh dead (not frozen) shrimp, sand fleas, and small cut baits usually work better than larger ones.

This leads us to my next fishing tip.

3) Scent is key to getting a bite. Fish are not chasing lures when it gets cold. They will however pick up a small “smelly” offering if it appeals to them. So going with fresh smelling bait or using lures with scent in or on them works better than no scent. I like Fish Bites, Gulp, or products that can be applied like Assassin’s Bang product or Pro-cure scented gel.

4) Slow your presentation or don’t move it at all. Cold fish don’t want to chase down their food. They are trying to conserve their energy and don’t want to burn any extra calories that they need to survive in the cold.

In conclusion, these four things will get you more wintertime bites and keep that bend in your rod more often. So, it’s cold now, but the warming trend that we will be experiencing in the first and second weeks of February should be a very good time to get out on the water to try these techniques to catch some really nice fish. If you’re interested in going on a fishing charter to do this, please don’t hesitate to give me a shout or go to my website Finelinefishingcharters.com and book your fishing adventure with me so that we can get out and catch your wintertime fishing memory.