As the summer draws near our outside and water temperatures increase. No surprise
right, just like fish we like cooler temperatures. How many times have you been outside
and just wanted the shade of a tree, a breeze? Each species of fish has a temperature
they like to be in. If it gets hot or too cold, they will move to change their environment.
The same goes for salinity and cloudiness. Water temperature also plays an important
role in oxygen levels in the water. As the water heats up, it cannot hold as much oxygen
and this is why during the summer the live shrimp you buy from the bait stores, die
when you place them in the water behind your house. This will also cause the fish to
leave an area.
Most boat anglers have a fish finder or chart plotter onboard. These electronics typically
give you a near surface water temperature. To use this feature to find fish, watch your
temperature and even the slightest change may have a large impact on the fish holding
in the area or biting. When the tide changes, so does the water temperature, this may
only be a few degrees but it can make a huge difference. In-shore; outgoing tides will
increase the water temperature in the creeks and river, as it is coming from the mud
flats and marsh areas where it has had a chance to be heated by the sun. With an
incoming tide you can expect a slightly cooler water to flow into those areas. Our
inshore waters are not deep enough to have a thermocline which is two different
temperatures of water stacked in layers. For us, this will be more prevalent off-shore.
For the shore anglers the same applies. I will offer this bit of advice to a shore angler,
get your feet wet or stick in your hand. It will give you an indication of the temperature.
When the water temperatures are high, I look for the cooler waters. I also look for
shaded areas as this will do two things. One it helps lower the temperature of the water.
Secondly, it gives the fish that I am targeting an advantage of concealment. Another
thing that boat anglers do is to find deeper water, generally deeper water is cooler. This
can also work for shore-based anglers; however, you will need to do a lot of search
casting. Which is to cast into the different areas you are fishing and pay attention to how
long it takes for your bait or weight to hit bottom. This will not tell you the depth of the
water, though it will help locate deeper areas of water.
This past week the trout bite has picked up. I am getting reports from the toll bridge up
to the inlet. The anglers that have been using live croaker have had the most
success in the early morning or late evening with the trout. Around the inlet there have
been some black drum, flounder, a few redfish and a handful of sheepshead. Just
outside of the inlet I have reports of Spanish Mackerel, which should be moving over the
bar as you read this report. I also have reports of tarpon on the flats north of the inlet.
There has also been a report of the pompano and some larger whiting moving north
from Daytona on a morning bite. I would look for the clean water in the morning before
the winds pick up. As we move into the afternoon/evening thunderstorms expect the
waters in the river to get dirty from the runoff.
Tight Lines, Friends!
Captain Mike Vickers JR.