Many New Jersey residents heading to Florida over the course of the next several months will arrive to find a number of important fisheries were crippled during the recent cold snap that sent the mercury into a tailspin up and down the east coast.

“The fishing shut down quickly as the cold front set in and the water temps dropped much quicker than normal,” said Capt. Charlie Conner, whose charter service, Capt. Charlie’s Fish Tales Charters, is based in Port St. Lucie and fishes the Indian River Lagoon from Stuart to the St. Lucie River.

“Fishing was totally different those first days out there,” said Conner. “It was the coldest and longest spell in my 28 years living down here.  Most come and go in a short time, but this stayed around.”

The cold snap produced ramifications worse than just a few days of poor fishing, however. Dozens of species of fish were killed in large numbers up and down the east coast of the state as waters plunged into the high 30s for the first time in decades. This led state officials to enact emergency closures of snook, bonefish and tarpon. The closure, which took effect Jan. 16, bans the harvest or possession of snook in state and federal waters off Florida until September and establishes a temporary prohibition on the harvest and possession of bonefish and tarpon from state and federal waters off Florida through March 31. Catch- and-release fishing for these species will still be allowed.

“Species such as snook, tarpon and snapper suffered greatly and it will take a while for them to recover,” confirmed Conner. “But trout, redfish, sheepshead and black drum held their own very well. The trout bite picked up as soon as the sun was out a couple days and the redfish bite picked up about the same time. Sheepshead, black drum and pompano has been good also.  Most of the fish didn’t feed much with the cold water, so they were hungry as the temps began to warm up again.”

Boaters have been advised by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission - the state agency that handles both fishing regulations and general marine law enforcement - that during periods of cold weather, manatees may huddle in one location, so an accident could affect many animals at once. FWC biologists documented more than 100 manatee carcasses in state waters from the beginning of the year through Jan. 23.

The good news, however, is that long-term fishing prospects look good across the Sunshine State. Some biologists have even identified a silver lining in the deadly cold snap - the fact that some invasive species native to climates warmer than Florida may have been eliminated from state waters.

For Conner, a return to more seasonable temperatures is a chance to get back to fishing.

“The rest of winter should be much more normal for this time of year,” said Conner. “Pompano fishing along the surf will remain good through spring. Trout and redfish will be the best bet along the river, which is usually the norm this time of year.”

Conner’s area, which covers Martin and part of St. Lucie counties, is home to a sizable redifsh population. When the redfish mature by late spring into summer, fishing will be excellent, he predicts.

On Florida’s Gulf Coast - where fish kills weren’t as severe as on the east coast - fishing is also improving after the chill. Redfish have begun feeding again in the Tampa Bay area, with many of the fish feeding on top of oyster bars at high tide. Spotted sea trout have been located on grassy flats.

Further south in the Ft. Meyers-Naples region, back bay temperatures have risen back into the 60s while Gulf temperatures continue to hover in the high 50s. Though the snook fishery is closed, catch- and-release fishing has yielded good results. Offshore, grouper to 30-inches have been boated in recent weeks while amberjack to 40-inches have been coming over the rails. Grouper season, however, closes for two months Feb. 1.

For those interested in fishing the Keys, offshore fishing has been excellent through the start of February, according to local reports. Blackfin tuna have been crushing baits as the Gulf Stream has moved closer to the reef line and the wahoo bite has begun to turn on full-throttle. Wreck fishing has yielded a good bite of kingfish and cobia.
On the flats, permit between 20 to 25-pounds have been hooked, with sea trout, barracuda and small sharks rounding out the local catch.