Captain Favorite's Weekend Fishing Forecast Feb. 28, 2013

BRADENTON -- A cold front is expected to move through the area this weekend, but with water temperatures in the mid-60s, which is probably 8 to 10 degrees above normal for February, anglers are still able to target the many popular pelagic species such as king mackerel, cobia and Spanish mackerel, which have moved to sunny south Florida. You should find trout, Spanish mackerel, blues, pompano and more on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Capt. Rick Grasset says you may also find blues and Spanish mackerel in passes when the tide is moving. Look for reds around docks, in potholes and on the edges of bars when the tide is low or on shallow flats on sunny afternoons when the tide is high.

Fishing Updates

2013 Python Challenge competitors turn in 68 Burmese pythons

• Competitors in the 2013 Python Challenge™ trekked through more than a million acres of swamps and sawgrass in search of the well-camouflaged Burmese python. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) today announced the results: 68 Burmese pythons harvested during the Jan. 12-through-Feb. 10 competition.

• The goal of the Python Challenge was to heighten public awareness about this invasive species, yet it also proved to be an unprecedented opportunity to gather important data about Burmese python populations and their impact on the Everglades ecosystem. 

Warm winter brings red drum action

• The calendar says it’s February, but you sure can’t tell it by the fishing action. February is generally considered to be one of the slowest months of the year, but my Super Bowl weekend half-day fishing trips out of Carrabelle proved otherwise.

• With water temperatures in the mid-60s, which is probably 8 to 10 degrees above normal for February, out-of-season and out-of-place gag grouper were hungry on the limestone “grouper” ledges in 28 to 44 feet of water. This time of year, gag grouper are usually in deeper and warmer water, and many popular pelagic species such as king mackerel, cobia and Spanish mackerel have moved to sunny south Florida. Gag grouper is closed to harvest right now to give the overfished species time to rebuild, but can still be caught and released.

Changes to Atlantic black sea bass recreational, commercial harvests in effect

• Several changes to black sea bass management in Atlantic state waters went into effect this week. These changes will help rebuild the Atlantic black sea bass population for future generations of recreational and commercial fishers and were made by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at its Dec. 5 meeting.
• Changes include:
• Increasing the minimum size limit for commercial harvest from 10 to 11 inches total length, and for recreational harvest from 12 to 13 inches total length.

• Changing the recreational daily bag limit from 15 to five fish per person.

• Requiring federal commercial endorsements and permits for the harvest of black sea bass using traps.

• Matching federal trap specifications and requirements, including requirements for trap construction, requiring traps to be set only in waters north of Cape Canaveral and requiring traps to be removed from the water and brought back to shore at the conclusion of each trip.

• Black sea bass populations in the Atlantic are improving but are undergoing overfishing, which means more fish are being removed from the water than is considered sustainable. Federal fishery managers made several recent changes to help continue to rebuild Atlantic black sea bass populations. The FWC-approved changes will align state management efforts with most current federal regulations for black sea bass.

Weekend Forecast

Weak high pressure will build in through the rest of the week. Another cold front will move south through the waters on Saturday with another period of elevated winds and seas expected by the end of the week.

Thursday

Northwest winds 5 to 10 knots increasing to around 15 knots in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. Thursday night will bring northwest winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop.

2013/02/28Thu01:52 a.m.1.6H

2013/02/28Thu08:19 a.m.0.2L

2013/02/28Thu01:51 p.m.1.84H

2013/02/28Thu09:02 p.m.-0.09L

Friday

Northwest winds around 15 knots. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. Friday night will bring northwest winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop.

2013/03/01Fri02:43 a.m.1.42H

2013/03/01Fri08:45 a.m.0.38L

2013/03/01Fri02:22 p.m.1.97H

2013/03/01Fri09:59 p.m.-0.16L

Saturday

Northwest winds around 15 knots. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. A slight chance of showers. Saturday night will bring northwest winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A chance of showers.

2013/03/02Sat03:44 a.m.1.2H

2013/03/02Sat09:11 a.m.0.56L

2013/03/02Sat02:59 p.m.2.05H

2013/03/02Sat11:06 p.m.-0.19L

Sunday

North winds 5 to 10 knots then becoming northwest around 20 knots in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters choppy. A slight chance of showers. Sunday night will bring northwest winds around 20 knots then becoming north 10 to 15 knots after midnight. Bay and inland waters choppy.

2013/03/03Sun05:07 a.m.0.99H

2013/03/03Sun09:33 a.m.0.72L

2013/03/03Sun03:44 p.m.2.07H

Solunar Forecast