Cold weather prompts anglers to find alternatives to pass the time

As Anna Maria Island anglers experience some of the coldest days of the winter as of yet, they find themselves searching for excuses not to have to do the less meaningful things in life like mow the lawn, do the household chores or whatever other projects that typically get pushed under the rug so they can go fishing. 

That being said, I’m sure we are all happy for warmer weather myself included, so we can get back on the water where we belong and stop all of this “being responsible” and “manual labor.” 

These intense cold fronts wear on anglers as we just don’t know what else to do nor do we care for that matter. 

There’s always the bars, but that gets expensive, not to mention the hangovers. And, you always seem to get a better welcome upon arriving home smelling like fish opposed to coming home reeking of booze. Of course, the folks that drink and fish at the same time this is OK for you, but not for the rest of us. 

On a positive note, these cold fronts provide great opportunities to get reacquainted with the nuances of everyday life like spending time with the family, taking the dog for a walk or just simply trying staying inside to binge watch the latest sitcom streaming on the TV. 

Even with all of these things going on, you’re still thinking about going fishing. 

How many days of this cold can you stand before you find yourself standing in the garage staring at your tackle wishing you were on the water again? 

Eventually, unable to withstand the withdrawals anymore, you resort to the next best thing. 

Buying more fishing tackle. 

And the skilled addict or angler knows, they can shoot two birds with one stone by simply gathering up the family and saying, “Let’s all go to Bass Pro Shops for the day.” 

The kids will love it and you’ll get to spend some quality time together — at least until you get there and you become hypnotized by the endless supply of fishing and hunting gear, forgetting you even brought the family with you. 

Since we’re in Florida — the cold fronts are typically brief, lasting no more than several days to a week — before getting back to normal with days in the mid 70s with plenty of sun and plenty of fishing to do. And these cold days are forgotten until the next front.

On my Just Reel charters, I’m spending time watching the weather, hoping for a window of opportunity then I’m back to fishing.

Just prior to the front, I was finding plenty of early-season sheepshead around the wrecks in the Gulf and along the Gulf beaches with many needing to be measured to see if they were keeper-size. Key West grunts, mangrove snapper and flounder were rounding out the bite. 

Inshore fishing in canals was producing sheepshead, as well as redfish and black drum.