February will find lots of Panhandle fishermen attending boat shows, tackle sales and seminars, all of which are necessities; at least that’s what we tell our spouses. But, don’t get lost in a month-long buying spree—keep sight of the fact that there is a lot of fishing to be done this month.

Molly Biggs coached grandson Eric Biggs as he pumped and reeled against an unseen, Pensacola pass heavyweight.

Bottom fishing has been “off-the-charts” hot since that nasty storm Ivan turned local lives upside down. While red snapper season is still a couple of months away, you’ll find plenty of action from grouper, red and gag, amberjack, triggerfish and other snappers, namely blacks, mingos and lane.

The grouper bite should be insane all the way from the edge and deep rocks in 200-plus feet of water, into shallower wrecks in the 60-foot range. People may not believe this, but you’ll even see small pods of grouper running along Panhandle beaches as they migrate inshore looking for food and to spawn. We’ve seen them in early and mid-March while cobia fishing and I’ve caught them with jigs while run-and-gun pompano fishing along the beach.

For best results with grouper, live bait is best, but it can be hard to find in the cold winter months. However, since the storm, bottom fishers have enjoyed similar success with traditional dead baits like cigar minnows, Spanish sardines and northern mackerel. If you head offshore for some bottom bumping, keep your eyes peeled for schools of bonito busting the surface. Yeah, they’re awesome fun on light tackle, but get out the medium-action spinning gear to make short work of these great strip-bait fish. And if you have a deepwater rock that you just know a big grouper is lurking around, drop the whole thing down with a 13/0 circle hook and hang on. If you’re gonna’ big-fish fish, you need heavy conventional gear loaded with 150-pound braided line. Match it with the same weight fluorocarbon leader and peg that drag down. Trust me, you might have to soak this bait a few times, but when you get a taker, you’ll be completely humbled as your knees buckle and you struggle to keep the rod off the gunnel.

For quality bottom fishing in February, fishermen from Pensacola should try live bottom like Paradise Hole or Green’s Hole, near shore. Destin anglers will find fish just a few miles out at Broken Bottom and Frangista Reef, before heading farther out to deeper water. Panama City bottom fishermen will bow up on wrecks like the Hathaway Spans or the Midway Tire sites.

Amberjack also bite well this month. You’ll want to concentrate on wrecks with more relief for these brutes. Here too, live bait is best, but a 4- to 6-ounce laser-tail jig and heavy spinning rod will produce plenty of action and leave your forearms burning.

If you make it to deeper water around the rock cliffs or the edge, spend a little time—before you head for home—dragging a Yo-Zuri Bonito, Mann’s Stretch 25 or similar lure behind the boat at six to eight knots. Not only are you likely to pick up a blackfin or yellowfin tuna, but a nice wahoo may try to spool you.

You won’t find as many boats offshore next to you this month, so make sure your safety equipment is working properly and tell someone on shore where you’ll be fishing (don’t worry, they won’t ask for your specific GPS numbers) and when you’re expected home. Cold weather is unforgiving and you don’t want to get caught out there unprepared.