Ramps are often less crowded in winter.

Friends of mine from around the country continually ask, “When is the best time to come to Florida and sight-fish for redfish?”

They are usually surprised by my answer, which is always the same: “During winter, with late January, February and early March being best.” Many hesitate to come and fish during this period while others do so with much reservation. I enjoy watching their skepticism turn first to guarded optimism and then to jubilation when, after a day or two on the water, they come to understand the reasons I believe winter offers the best opportunity of the year to catch redfish.

No one needs to be convinced that winter’s short days and long nights coupled with cool, and occasionally cold, air temperature cause our water temperature to drop by several degrees. Many fish such as snook and spotted seatrout seek refuge in deeper holes during this time where they school tightly and become lethargic. They still must eat, however, and become very vulnerable to over-harvesting. Hence, there are closed seasons for these species during winter.

Redfish also tend to school more tightly during winter months but, rather than becoming as lethargic as many other species, they continue to move about over the course of a day in their quest for food. Find the baitfish and shellfish and you’ll find the reds. Lots of them tightly pack into schools that often number in excess of a hundred fish.

If you are out early in the day during winter, you will notice that there is not much activity on the part of baitfish. However, as the day progresses their activity will likely increase dramatically. In places where water is shallow and does not get moved by tidal flow or wind, it can easily warm by three or four degrees by mid-afternoon. This temperature change can be even greater in bays or large pockets far removed from open water where the entrance faces south. With prevailing winds from the north in winter, there will be calm, protected water at the north end of these bays. Since this is the back of the bay, it will likely be the shallowest water, as well. In winter, the sun takes a more southerly track across the horizon and during afternoons, it shines directly into the back of these bays where it warms the shallow water even more. Baitfish and shellfish become active as the day progresses and if you look carefully, tails with spots can be seen above the surface waving at you.

If there is a marsh behind a lagoon or basin and it has shallow bays that have sediment bottoms, be sure to check these out. They are usually protected from the wind and have minimal tidal flow. While not particularly appealing the rest of the year, the midday sun heats the shallow water over the darker sediment and baitfish, soon followed by the reds, will get in these backcountry bays on winter afternoons.

On several occasions in winter, I have seen a shallow grassflat come alive about midday when its clear waters had sufficiently warmed. After appearing to be barren only an hour before, mullet started jumping. Soon there would be swirl, as a hapless baitfish became lunch. You knew that you were in the right area after a couple more such feeding swirls.

Another winter situation to look for is a “mud spot” along a shoreline or in the middle of a bay. Unlike an entire flat that gets muddied by the activity of a large school of mullet, a mud spot will be about the size of a house. The compact school of reds, by rooting around on the bottom, lifts sediment into the water and causes it to look muddy. If you see such a spot in the middle of nowhere when all the surrounding water is clear, be sure to go over and check it out. However, do your investigation with a lure and not by plowing your boat into the mud spot to see what may have caused it. These spots also have a self-fulfilling prophecy in that the muddied water becomes warmer because of its darker color.

I recall a visit by a friend several years ago when we found such a mud spot in the back of a small bay. Although no reds were visible, nearly every cast into the murky water resulted in a bite. Each day during his visit, it was the same thing: a virtual honeyhole of redfish. On visits during subsequent years, he always insisted that we return to that same bay to see if the fish were holding there. Long before we were to the back of the bay I could see that there was no mud spot, but he would always insist that we go on in and check it out, nonetheless.

On the subject of looking, it is easier to spot fish during winter. With rainfall greatest during summer and on into the tropical season, waters become slightly stained. This is not the case during winter when rainfall amounts are at their yearly lows. There are no afternoon storms having winds that make surface water rock and roll while bringing up sediment from the bottom. Because of the extended calm, particles of dirt and debris suspended in the water during the rainy season have had time to settle to the bottom and water becomes gin-clear. Winter is definitely a preferred time to search for the big, oversize reds that prefer water three to four feet deep. They are much more visible.