Fish Tales: Don't let cold front hold you back

One nice thing about living in Florida is that with so many species of fish to catch, there is always something happening, even if your favorite species isn’t all that active.

Special to the Chronicle

Atlanta, Ga., angler Allison Sinkler holds a giant sheepshead caught last week while fishing with Capt. Dan Clymer near Crystal River.

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With the brutal cold front passing earlier this week, many popular species have been knocked back.

Capt. Dan Clymer of Racin’ Mullet Charters has been busy guiding clients to a mixed bag of fish in the past couple of weeks, and he says that even with the 20-degree weather earlier this week, anglers can still target and catch popular, good-eating fish.

“The sheepshead have really kicked off since Christmas,” Clymer said Wednesday afternoon.

Sheepshead are a member of the porgy family and, for much of the year, can be found around oyster bars, seawalls and in tidal creeks.

Clymer took the time to offer some tips on attracting the black-and-white, toothy game fish.

“Right now, you’re going to find them congregated around any kind of structure or hard bottom,” he said. “They are grouping up to spawn and they like the cold. This drop in water temperature won’t deter them at all.”

His choice for enticing the popular fish is to tail-hook a shrimp onto a small, 1/8-ounce Hank Brown jig.

“I toss it out onto whatever structure I am fishing and I want to let it fall to the bottom,” Clymer said. 

One important tip he offers is to keep a small amount of slack in your line to retard the feel of the bite.

“Let it sit nice and still and the fish will find it, but watching the line becomes imperative,” Clymer said. “Sheepshead are notorious nibblers, and if you set the hook when you feel a bite, the fish may not have the hook in their mouth. You want to have a little bit of slack in your line and keep a close eye on it. Wait to set the hook until your line moves off. Being a line-watcher is key.”

Clymer cautioned anglers fishing for sheepshead this time of the year to keep in mind the fish are reproducing and conservation is key to keeping the fishery healthy.

“They’re spawning, so catch what you want for dinner and let the rest go back,” he said. “When they’re biting good at this time of the year, it’s not uncommon to catch 20 to 30.”

Clymer said lately most of his fish are in the 12- to 15-inch range, but larger ones can be caught regularly. He said he caught one last week that tipped the scales near 10 pounds.

The Florida record for sheepshead stands at 12 pounds, 2 ounces.

As for the rod, reel and line, Clymer keeps it simple. 

“I use the same basic setup I do for trout and reds,” he said. “I use a 10-pound test braided line for my main line down to a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader tied to my hook.” 

With that, he casts his shrimp-tipped jigs with a 7-foot, medium-action spinning rod coupled with a Shimano 2500 series reel.

Capt. Dan Clymer can be reached by visiting crystalriver-fishing.com or calling 352-418-2160.