FLORIDA KEYS UNLOCKED FOR REDFISH AND TROUT.

Byline: Bill Schulz Associated Press 

When winter's chill is just beginning to hint that spring is coming up North, the redfish and spotted trout in the Gulf of Mexico are making their way up onto the flats for a feeding binge.

But if there are too many cold fronts bringing that northern chill deep into Dixie, they sulk in holes and channels.

Either way, they can be caught as a start to the spring fishing season off the Florida Keys.

``Redfish are more cold-tolerant than the snook or the bonefish. They are a mainstay in January and February,'' said Capt. Jamie Brody, one of the area's top guides.

Islamorada is a great location for a spring fishing base camp. It offers a variety of hotels, shops and restaurants that provide activities for a nonfishing spouse and children to enjoy a winter vacation, too. It's fairly close to the mainland, which means you avoid the long, two-lane drive clogged with tourists headed for the shops of Key West.

``In February, you can get a lot of cold fronts. The winds will blow the water out of (Florida) Bay, and you've got to concentrate on the deep holes to catch fish,'' Brody explained.

The shrimp start their spring run despite the cold fronts, and the fish aren't going to skip meals if they can help it.

Under those conditions, ``you can sit in a hole and catch 25 to 30 redfish by using a jig and a live shrimp and slowly, slowly bumping it along the bottom,'' Brody said.

``Everything's slowed down. The fish are feeding lightly. The take is very light. When you feel the bite, it feels like a little, tiny fish. But when you set the hook, you may find you have a 10-pound redfish on,'' he said.

To catch reds and trout, Brody uses a popping rig that is well known to Florida anglers, but not so famous elsewhere.

The key is a bobber, about the size of a hen's egg. It's weighted slightly at the pointed end, and the rounded end is cut out to make it concave.

There's a hole lengthwise through the cork and a slit on one side to slide the cork onto your line. Then a wood or plastic pin fits through the hole to secure the line.

The weight makes it ride upright in the water.

``Below that, on the leader, you put a jig or a weighted hook and hook a shrimp, small fish or other bait,'' Brody said. ``You cast it out, then pull back sharply. The concave end of the cork makes a popping noise, which imitates the sound of a trout feeding on shrimp.''

That attracts the attention of fish. ``They look up to see what that noise was, and they see the jig and shrimp combination drifting down to them and they jump up on it and eat it,'' Brody said. ``It's a method that's so effective that commercial fishermen used to use it. They used a cane pole and heavy line and killed batches of trout.''

Take it easy when setting the hook. You don't have to drive the point home into a hard mouth, like that of a tarpon. Give the fish a few seconds to mouth the shrimp, then a firm tug.

Then get out the net. Be sure to release most of your catch to be caught another time, but keep a couple to test the skills of the chef at one of the restaurant at Islamorada, and let that nonfishing wife know you can provide food for the family.

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Photo

Photo: (color) Fishing guide Jamie Brody displays his catch of redfish caught in Florida.

Associated Press