Winter Fishing in Crystal River

Wintertime for most sportsmen vantage if you are fishing from a Kaku Kayak usually means sitting in a tree stand or a ground blind in the freezing cold and snow for hours at a time while waiting for that big buck to walk out in front of them within range. That is all fine and good, but there is another way to spend those cold winter days while enjoying the great outdoors. Fishing in the Crystal River is as good as it gets when the mercury starts to drop, but knowing where to fish becomes much more important for success on the water during the winter season.

Kings Bay is a great place to fish in the winter due to its thermal properties. It has numerous springs located throughout the entire bay. These springs produce 72-degree water all year long. This warmer water temperature at- tracts bait fish, which in turn brings the larger predatory fish like Red fish, Trout and Snook. Another advantage to fishing inside the bay is that the entire bay is either a minimum wake or no wake zone. This is a great advantage if you are fishing from a Kaku Kayak or Paddleboard.
Redfish is our main target inside of Kings Bay. The reds are structure oriented so you can find them cruising the shoreline and seawalls throughout the bay. They can also be found on the drop-offs and hard bot- tom ledges that are located all over the bay and inside the river. Artificial baits like the Wedge Tail Mullet by Egret Baits are a great way to work these areas. Snook can be found in these same areas and they can also be found in the open grass flats using shallow diving plugs like the Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow or the 3D inshore Twitch Bait.

Seatrout also can be found inside the bay during the coldest days of the season, but they do not stay long since they can’t tolerate the lower salinity very long. They are usually found around shallow hard bottom areas that absorb the heat from the sun during the day. Targeting these Trout should be done around mid-day, while the sun is at its highest.

If water temperatures are mild, they can be found on the shallow flats all along the outside of the river mouth. If you can find a patch of kelp grass on these flats, you will surely find the Trout.
There are many other fish that roam our waters during the winter season that can also be targeted. Sheepshead are surely one of the species that we like to target since they can be found on the near shore rock piles and ledges. Pompano
and Permit can be target- ed around the sand bars around Yankeetown and Crystal River. Black Drum can be found around oyster bars feeding on small crabs and shrimp. Tarpon usually roam the inside of the bay and river. We also look for Tripletail under any floating debris or crab trap buoys while running to different locations.
If you plan to visit Crystal River in the wintertime or any other time of the year I would highly recommend staying at The Plantation on Crystal River. They have great amenities and are conveniently located, right on the water, with boat parking on the seawall behind the rooms that you stay in. They also boast their own marina/dive shop that carries tackle and live bait. If you do not wish to bring a boat or kayak, then just head to the Plantation Adventure Center and have them set you up with one of their guides. They also rent jonboats, pontoon boats, kayaks and paddleboards so there are plenty of options for getting to the fish.
Good Luck and enjoy Florida’s awesome wintertime fishing!