Winter and Spring Fishing
We are two months into 2025 and this year was a little different for me than most. I took a bit of a break from guiding hardcore and spent a lot of the past two months in the woods. I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with friends, hunting deer and hogs to end 2024 and start 2025. It was the first time in a very long time that I took advantage of hunting season and I have to admit that I really missed it. The season was good to me, as I was able to harvest 4 deer and 1 hog during my adventures. The better part was that I had a friend who took the time to teach me to process each animal without needing to take the animals to a processor. The deer and hog were cleaned and completely processed by us, filling up my freezers with steaks, roasts, ground meat, and sausage. The processing part was completely new to me, adding a sense of complete accomplishment to the hunting adventures. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it will become a permanent part of my hunting. The other good part for me; the weather was pretty crappy for fishing, so I didn’t miss anything.
Now hunting season is over, the weather is getting better, and I am back to concentrating on fishing. I started this year by helping some great people learn to start fly fishing. I spent a day with Bob Clouser, teaching some basics of casting and fly tying, at a one-day class. Then I spent some time with Flip Pallot and Brian Flechsig, of Mad River Outfitters, and a two-day fly-fishing class they hosted. I’m still trying to keep my promise to Lefty Kreh and help introduce and teach everyone I can about fly fishing. Both classes were a great success and I hope they help the participants in their new venture. If you would like help in your fly casting or other areas of fly fishing, please reach out to me. Whether I help you personally or get you into a class, I’ll do everything I can to make you adventure into fly fishing as successful as I can.
Now let’s get into the fishing report! I’ll start with the saltwater world.
What more can I say than sight fishing conditions are about as perfect as they can be, if the weather cooperates with clear, sunny skies. We’ve had one of the coldest winters that we’ve had in a long time. Fortunately, it was cold enough to clear the water up, but not so cold that we had a major fish kill. We did lose a few fish, but not like we did in 2011. The waters are extremely clear and they have dropped to some of lowest levels I have seen in a long time too. The low, clear water makes it ideal for those who really want to experience sight fishing. As long as we have proper sun, we can see fish just about everywhere we go. Redfish, black drum, sea trout, sheepshead, and more can be seen on the flats, making it a dream for sight fishing. The clear, low water does bring some added difficulty to stalking and successfully catching fish, but that is exactly what makes it so exciting. These conditions make this style of fishing about as close to hunting as you can get.
In order to have the best success, this is the time of year that I really recommend downsizing everything. Lighter rods, lighter leaders and lighter flies and jigs. This allows you to drop stuff near the fish without blowing them out. It is also a time that leading fish a little more than normal can help a lot too. With the clear water, they have no issue seeing stuff further away and as long as they are moving and feeding, they’ll be happy to travel a few extra inches to eat something. Our cooler weather isn’t going to last too long, so we are already gearing up for the spring season.
Spring season will mean the addition of snook, tarpon and jacks. Each of these is a hard fighting fish and each of them present their own difficulties in catching. Spring fishing typically starts in late March, but we will just have to see when our late cold front arrives. It could happen sooner or it could be pushed back a little. While I’m excited for it to arrive, I’m also enjoying the cooler weather.
I don’t want to overlook our freshwater fishing. Right now, is some of the best freshwater fishing around. Largemouth bass are still on beds, where they can be sight fished like redfish. To me, it is just as much fun and just as exciting. We also have a decent American and Hickory Shad run taking place. These fish are an absolute blast on ultralight spin gear or light fly gear. Crappie season has been a little spotty, but if you find them, it has been steady and the size of fish has been impressive.
Then there is my favorite way to freshwater fish: bowfishing tilapia. It’s hard for me to explain how much I enjoy this. Talk about combining hunting and fishing and you cannot come up with a better combination. I’ve changed tactics over the last year. I’ve stopped wading a lot of places, due to poor visibility, and started poling the boat. Easing along the shallows of the lakes and river, taking position on the casting platform with a bow, and we have found great success in this method. The added height gives better visibility to the hunter and lessens the arrow deflection as it enters the water. It does mean that you will need a reel on your bow. My personal choice of bowfishing reel is made by AMS. It’s light, attaches to any bow, and is very simple to use; no buttons to remember to press, no drag system to maintain, and no tangles to worry about. Just remember, you do need your own bow to go bowfishing; there are too many individual variables on a bow to make using someone else’s effective.
Well, as always, please reach out to me if you have any questions. The year is starting to book up, but I will do my best to get anyone out there I can. Until next time, I hope you get outdoors and enjoy nature and some of your own adventures.
Tight lines and screaming drags:
Captain John Tarr
386-314-5998
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