‘I prefer the nasty weather.’ How a Tampa Bay fisherman takes advantage of cold weather

As Captain Peter Smith headed to go fishing last Saturday, he received a few interesting looks.

“People were looking at us and wondering what we were doing. We were the only ones at the ramp that day,” said Smith, who specializes in shallow-water fishing around Tampa and Sarasota Bay.

It was 56 degrees when he launched for a fun trip with his dad and fellow captains Andres Gomes and Nate Costello. Water temperature was a chilly 60 degrees with winds blowing 20 to 25 miles per hour out of the north.

Any one of those three conditions would normally keep anglers home, but, to Smith, that was the perfect time to head out.

“I prefer the nasty weather. The nastier the better, to an extent. It keeps a majority of people at the house. When we get those really rough conditions, the fish let their guard down,” Smith explained. “The water is a little more stirred up, there is good cloud cover, bait gets a little jumbled around and big redfish and trout will stay where they are and use the wind to their advantage to ambush. Those are the days I have found some of the best bites we get.”

With the cold weather, Smith and his crew headed to a flat dressed for warmth. Dawning layers upon layers under waders to stay dry, he parked his boat shallow and prepped his crew to get ready to hop out of the boat. They were going to wade for the best opportunity to catch fish.

“We’re wading from ankle deep to belly deep. Some of the shallower bottom we may be standing on a sandbar and casting to potholes. We look for salt and pepper sandy and grassy bottom. If there are birds working and bait around the area with mullet jumping, that seems to be best,” Smith said.

“Fish stack up in these conditions. On slow days, we’ll still get a dozen trout and three to four redfish on an hour-and-a-half wade,” he added.

On Saturday, Smith’s crew were immediately on the fish. From start to finish, they landed not only quality but quantity. Making a resurgence this year is the trout fishery which has seen bigger numbers and higher sizes this year.

“We got 30 trout with a bunch of 20-inch fish, the biggest was 26 inches. Then probably 40 redfish, with some 31 to 32inches. It was numbers and good-sized fish,” said Smith. “I’ve seen more redfish and trout this year than in the past few years, and I think that’s a good sign for our estuaries.”

Smith targets the fish using mainly artificial lures.

“Unless someone isn’t comfortable throwing lures, then I’ll bring shrimp, but we use a lot of fluke-style baits and straight tails,” Smith said. “Lil Johns, Texas’ Coastal Brew Dart, Pure Flats Slick lure, those are the big three. Maybe a classic paddle tail like Slayer Inc SSTXLs. Some days when the trout are averaging 15 to 19 inches, I’ll throw a big 8-inch bait for bigger fish since I see them from the tower. Even then, the smaller fish will attack it, which is kind of crazy.”

With so many fronts rolling through in January, Smith hasn’t let it keep him off the water. As more bad weather lies ahead in the forecast, he doesn’t mind being one of the only boats out and anticipates good fishing to continue.

Captain Peter Smith can be reached at (941) 209-8090 or through his website www.DoubleBountyFishing.com.