The target fish for the month of January has been Striped Bass. As some of you know, striped bass prefer a water temperature somewhere between 55 and 60 degrees, thus making them more plentiful along the northern, east coast of the United States. The thought of targeting Striped Bass in our humid climate, rarely crosses a Florida angler's mind. As a young kid, I was introduced to Striper fishing by my father, a Milton native, who grew up fishing the local rivers for Stripers or "Rock Bass" as they were called when he was a kid. Learning to target Striped Bass in florida can be difficult yet very rewarding. I think of it a little like deer hunting. If you put in the time to learn their patterns and finally bag that 25lber, it will bring you a feeling of great satisfaction. Still to this day, Stripers are one of my favorite fish to target in our area.
This morning, I had the priveledge of guiding yet another military group stationed in Pensacola. The goal today, was to educate them on the basics of Striper fishing using all artificial lures. The group was experienced and caught on very quick to my teachings. The tide was perfect this morning, however, I knew the warm weather would shut the bite off an hour or so after daylight. We met at the launch at 5:30 and were fishing by 5:45. We caught a 4lb fish on the very first cast and for an hour after that it was game on! We did not manage to catch a 20lber this morning, but, all of the fish we caught were nice. I did have a 15 plus pound fish smash my lure at the boat but didn't hook himself. O well! I really enjoyed fishing with experienced clients and great company. I hope to have taught them a thing or two about targeting Striped bass locally.
Capt Brant
www.captainbrant.com