Major cold front brings exciting fishing to the back country

BY CAPT. SANDY MELVIN

Our first major cold front of the season blasted through this week and spoiled the offshore gulf fishing with some strong winds. Things will pick back up as soon as winds settle down.

Fortunately, the winds and cold weather don’t stop the backcountry fishing where we can get into the protected islands and grass flats to catch the skinny water fish.

The best bite has been with speckled trout. They’ve been aggressive and plentiful.

Redfish catches have been scattered, with best results on the higher tides.

There’s been a fair number of snook still being caught, but the colder water has slowed that bite down, probably until we see a warming trend again.

This week is a great time to get the young kids out to have some fun. To keep their attention, there are lots of aggressive ladyfish and yellowtail jacks around that love colder weather and always give a hard fight.

Merry Christmas to all and enjoy our great fishing!