‘Just slow it down.’ Manatee angler offers advice for fishing in the cold

With cold weather taking over the state of Florida, water temperatures have dropped to some of the coldest we’ve seen in years.

Despite that fish need to eat, and anglers like Scott Sadorf are willing to fish through the cold to bend a rod.

“I would say I fish shrimp about 80% of the time, therefore I don’t really change any tactics. I just change my locations,” explained Sadorf, who documents his excursions and art on his Instagram (@scott_snook).

“Once it got really cold, it scattered the fish I had been on previously. I’ve seen trout and reds on the flats and some small snook in the creeks. With the real cold coming, I probably won’t go for a while.”

Sadorf also goes stealthy when he’s fishing. Fishing from land or wading, he dresses warm and wears waders to keep dry. Oftentimes in the cold weather, fish look for sunny spots to get warmth, and that means shallow and clear water could be a good spot. He uses light tackle and prefers monofilament line, which is less visible than the braided line most anglers fish with.

“The old saying is when it’s cold, just slow it down if you’re using artificial. But for the most part with my shrimp life, nothing changes and it’s the same tackle. The last couple years, I’ve gone back old school and started using mono main line, 8-pound, and 20-pound fluorocarbon leader,” Sadorf said.

“I use a very small number two or sometimes number four hook,” he added. “That’s primarily my snook set up all year round except when I’m using big baits. But for everything else, it’s pretty much the same. With the trout and reds, you can certainly get away with bigger terminal tackle, but those snook can be tricky!”

When he set out during a cold January morning, Sadorf was the only customer at the bait shop. He had his pick of shrimp, and his fishing addiction got the blood flowing. His light tackle worked to catch trout and snook in the frigid 56-degree water.

As even colder weather is on the horizon, Sadorf will most likely be taking some time off the water, hoping for the best for our local fish.

“I’m going to be keeping a close eye on the snook to see how they’re surviving. In the past, once it dropped down to about 54, that’s when they became quite endangered,” Sadorf said.

The incoming freezing temperatures will no doubt put snook into a state of stress. Anglers are urged to not handle stunned snook as they can often be in a paralyzed state, so if you see lethargic, slow moving or shocked fish let them be. Nature will take its course and when temperatures warm up, they will get more active.