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Fishing Report for Homosassa, Florida
Capt. Mike Locklear
February 13, 2004
Homosassa - Saltwater Fishing Report
Redfish Action Luke Warm
The past few days Florida’s warmer weather made the fishing warmer as well. Horse racer and executive cabinet builder Tom Bickel of Michigan and long time friend Larry hired me for a long day of fishing on the flats of Homosassa Bay.
My Hells Bay 18’ Marquesas is the choice vessel for this day of fishing. This boat is such a pleasure to drive and fish from. The 600 pound Kevlar boat makes poling a snap.
It was an awesome day with excellent action during the afternoon hours particularly the last 45 minutes of the trip. Redfish up to 7 pounds were fought and landed with one double hook up. It was a great way to end the trip.
We left the dock around 8:00 am and by the time we got to a flat, the tide was leaving the flat and the reds were there but not hungry. The skinny water was a little too shallow and chilly at 63 degrees. Thus no eaters although we had some shots.
Just for rod bending action, we headed out to a sheepshead hole and instantly, Tom’s rod looked like a horseshoe for a while. Larry also caught several sheepies.
Foggy conditions made navigation somewhat tricky if not for the Lowrance GPS. We decided to try for a shallow water grouper and moved offshore 5 miles to 8 feet of water and while demonstrating the technique, I caught a nice size keeper grouper of about 6 pounds on a lipped lure. This would be the only fish caught in the 60 degree water.
By 3 pm in was time to head in and we stopped on a flat where the tide was coming in and temperatures were in the 70’s. For some magical reason the reds turned on the last part of the day. I think the higher water makes the magic work and thus the reds finally ate after an hour or so trying to get a bite, they just turned on towards the end of our trip.
The key was perseverance patiently waiting as the southwest winds were helping to bring in much needed water to make the reds feel secure and not spooky. We fished past quitting time which is 3:30 normally. We pulled the anchor the final time at 5:30.
One other factor, I don’t want to overlook was the fact that I asked out loud while praying silently that my anglers would each catch a nice big redfish. Thank you, sweet Jesus.
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