Situational Methodology Fishing
Situational Methodology Fishing is simply a term I coined to approach fishing from a different angle than what we are used to seeing. Catching fish is rather challenging, especially when you aren't on the water 3-5 days a week like the pros. Rather than trying to learn the specific traits of each species, as the majority, if not all books and guides teach, I find it much easier to focus on structure, weather, and seasons to dictate where the fish will be and when they will be there.
We know that fish all follow the same instinctual patterns of survival, with the only differences being a slight variation in when they move, and where they move, which varies by species. We know that water temperature change forces all fish into a specific migrations. We know that weather patterns quickly change fish behavior, and long term change slowly drives fish to new locations. We know that structure attracts all species, whether it be a weed line or floating buoy, bridge pilings, seawalls, vegetation, or a simple small indention in the sand bottom, it's a necessity for survival.
In example, lets look at winter when the water temperature drops and fish need to move for survival. This doesn't just apply to a single species, so rather than reading a book that lists each species and includes this very element, which becomes quite tough to remember when you read bios on a handful or more species, it's much easier to understand and learn what the end results are that are caused by the change, and how the movement takes place within this change. Long term seasonal changes take time to move fish, and they move slowly, so knowing the destination of the fish and the routes along the way opens up a lot of ambush points during this winter retreat, and keeps you hot on their tails all the way to their winter staging. The same applies for summer, fall, and spring.
Sticking with a brief winter scenario, when the water temperature consistently drops fish begin to take notice and start to seek out a comfortable place to ride out the cold water coming. As an inshore angler, you are most likely targeting the top species of snook, redfish, trout, permit, and bonefish in many parts of the state, and as such, all of these species and more move to deeper water over various types of bottom, from mud to shell. They all generally do the same, though some faster than others. Trout often hang around a bit longer and eventually head to the rivers or deeper water while moving in and out rapidly during fluctuation changes. Snook, on the other hand, often head for the rivers or deeper water at first sign, and hunker down for the long duration, while redfish stay fairly active in deep water until they absolutely have to seek out winter retreats. Regardless, after reading this book you'll know what all fish perfer as a whole, and as such, you'll find the majority of species along your path.
Finding these fish boils down to environmental conditions such as tides, angle of the sun, winds, barometric pressure, seasons, structure, time of day and much more. Looking at it from a situational methodology view point, we can formulate a travel itinerary for inshore fish based on the environmental conditions present, and forthcoming, and then apply a few details of each species such as comfort zones, and habitat to further pinpoint their locations.
"Florida Inshore Angler - Situational Methodology," goes into extreme detail on all types of movement and habitat, from open water beachfront to back country mud flats, rivers, and everthing in between. There are many fishing books on the market today focused on each fish species, but I wanted to offer a new focus based on situational fishing, one that goes in-depth with the elements of fishing, thus giving you insight to the structure and elements that attract fish. Rather than giving you a short bio of what each fish likes, I am going to show you what “all” fish like!
By targeting structure and weather elements you’ll know year-round where the bait and fish are, why they are there, and how they use these elements to survive. Learn this and you’ll be knee deep in success.
Not to forget those that fish from land, and our out of state visitors that love to get a line wet, I’ve included in-depth sections on surf fishing, as well as other areas that will make you more successful in many conditions.
By targeting structure and weather elements you’ll know year-round where the bait and fish are, why they are there, and how they use these elements to survive. Learn this and you’ll be knee deep in success.
Not to forget those that fish from land, and our out of state visitors that love to get a line wet, I’ve included in-depth sections on surf fishing, as well as other areas that will make you more successful in many conditions.
PURCHASE AUTHOR SIGNED BOOK
