# NW Florida Fish Migration...?



## TyatCapeSanBlas (Apr 6, 2007)

Im interested to see if anyone fishing between and including the Pensacola area east to Tallahassee, including eveyplace in between (Destin, Panama), has any information on migration patterns.
Can anyone who fishes the North West fill me in on when Cobia, Tarpon and Bluefish arrive and leave the surf in this region? I have a basic idea but am looking for more detailed information. What bait schools do they follow, and what particular topographic contours they follow? Any help would be appreciated, even if its a short comment. Im particularly interested in the Appalachicola area.
Thanks


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## TyatCapeSanBlas (Apr 6, 2007)

*Getting Some Discussion Started*

Ok, I will contribute. Here is an exerpt on cobia migration from Florida Sportsman Magazine

"Jim Franks is a biologist from the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Mississippi in Ocean Springs, and as the Director of The Cobia Research Project is recognized as the leading authority on Gulf Coast cobia. Franks has focused his research work on cobia for over 14 years and has attended numerous tournaments to study catch results. Funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Franks is heading an angler catch-and-release program that has tagged over 12,000 cobia, so when this guy talks cobia, anglers pay attention. He agrees with Burns that scientists have yet to get a handle on cobia migration.

According to Franks, the migration of cobia from their wintering grounds near the Florida Keys to the Panhandle takes place in late March and April, so the fish found inside Tampa Bay in May and June are probably not headed north, but instead move offshore to spend the warmer summer months. April fish may be headed north. “They’re not spooky of shallow water so they move inside the Bay while its still cool, looking for food,” says Franks. “Since I have no tag returns from the Panhandle that originate inside the Bay, that’s just an educated guess as to where they go.” Franks says there is more and more conjecture amongst biologists that there is a stock of nonmigratory fish—individuals, not a subspecies—but again, that has yet to be confirmed. Adding to the mystery is the fact that in winter 1998-1999 many fish were caught all winter long in the northern gulf. “Perhaps yet another effect of El Niño?” asks Franks. “We think of cobia as a migratory species, and yet some members may not migrate, and we don’t know why yet. There are a lot of small fish up here, too. Many are undersize in the northern Gulf, which may indicate they never migrated.”

Capt. Johnnie Walker of Sarasota is responsible for tagging and releasing more than 80 percent of the fish in the Mote study, and agrees with the scientists about the mysteries of cobia migration patterns.

“We get big schools—50 to 100 fish—on the inshore artificial reefs, 200 yards to three miles off the beach, which makes me think the main body sticks close to shore during the migration. We see a few singles inside the harbor, especially around markers, crab buoys and manatees. They follow manatees and get into a feeding frenzy when the manatee starts to root around, spooking pinfish and crabs. But for some reason, our cobia in Sarasota Harbor and adjoining bays don’t follow the rays like they do in Tampa Bay. I’ve caught most of my cobia on the nearshore reefs, not in the bays. Maybe it’s because our grass patches are not as expansive as they are in Tampa Bay. Sarasota Bay is really a deeper bay than most—10-foot depths are the norm. So our artificial reefs are where we find the cobia.”

Walker uses a big chugger with the hooks removed to chum in a school of cobia. One follows it and the rest follow behind, right back to the boat. Any bait handy gets pitched to the lit-up fish and the fight is on. “You always want to have one rod rigged for cobia,” says Walker, “because when you pull up a reef fish like a snapper or grouper, chances are a cobia will follow it up from the reef.”

You may stumble across cobia any time of the year in Tampa Bay—an errant fish or two might be hanging out at a power plant or around a range finder—but if you want to target these rowdy vacuum cleaners of the sea with a good chance of taking home some tasty fillets, check out the flats on a calm sunny day and bets are on that you’ll find some, following the right kind of rays."

http://www.floridasportsman.com/sportfish/cobia/s_0106_flats/index1.html

*What about blues and tarpon, and any other cool cobia info?*


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## TyatCapeSanBlas (Apr 6, 2007)

Bump, I know its a general question but damn


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## emanuel (Apr 2, 2002)

There's some good material out there on the mullet run on the east coast, not sure about other fish migrations in the gulf.


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## AL SEARS (Feb 10, 2007)

Sort of fits what a fishing buddie of mine in Panama City said "Cobia or Ling as some call them arrive there in march and april, the Pompano arrive mid april or so. We was fishing 8 mile out of Panama City and seen a very large Cobia on surface in Mid October last year,we was getting fair our share of Red Snapper and Red grouper at 100 110ft . Al


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## jettypark28 (Jun 23, 2006)

*Maybe*

somebody in the "Gulf section" might have some ideas....but i understand they don't run the same as the east coast.....bluefish are strange fish, because they go thru a 30yr cycle....where you will see then running heavy and then not run as strong for awhile....here in fla we don't get the really big ones and the big ones that we do get are running fast.....but i belive everything runs our coast first then turn around into the gulf.....I think your best bet would be to do a search on the net.....you might have better luck....there is a load of tarpon info out there.....check other forum....being mostly a shore fisherman forum, we really arent in tune to when they run the coast.....we follow the bait runs and everything else fall in place......:fishing:


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## TyatCapeSanBlas (Apr 6, 2007)

you guys are right, the net has a lot of good stuff, some interesting dissertations and reports and so on. Some general bluefish info states that they of course move all the way up to cape cod and beyond spawning in early spring around NC and spawn again in summer around cape cod. There is also thought to be a separate group or species of bluefish that hang out in the gulf and don't migrate as much but the verdict is still out on that one-like what Jetty was talking about. 

Ill keep the thread alive if I find some more detailed information that I think is worth sharing.
thanks

edit; heres some cool tarpon info oriented around texas but still related to the gulf and tarpon movement

from Texas Tarpon Tactics.net

"Each summer, the most frequently asked question of every avid tarpon chaser anywhere on the Gulf Coast has to be, where are the tarpon? This question gets asked whether anglers are looking for fish, which they have heard are actively roaming the near shore waters, or wondering about their unusual absence from any given stretch of sandy beach. When the rumor gets out that tarpon are being regularly caught, the inquisitive angler may never get a direct answer and may be covertly avoided. However, when these prehistoric fish seem to have gone the way of the dinosaurs and evaporated with the warm surface waters of the Gulf, you will often get a different theory from every tarpon addict. Most often, these theories are based on varying levels of observation and to a greater degree on hip-pocket biology.

Despite the fact that this species has been on Earth for millions of years very little is truly known about their habits. Only in recent years have we finally begun to peal back the mysterious life cycle of these awesome acrobats. For many years it was thought that tarpon spawned in brackish backwaters and mangrove swamps. Recently, we have learned that this presumption is false. Tarpon spawn along the continental shelf in the deep waters of the Northern Gulf of Mexico. The prevailing currents then sweep their larval young until they make their way into brackish backwaters to spend their formative years. Once protected by the maze of mangrove roots, they may spend tens years growing to sexual maturity and a length of about four feet. These tarpon teenagers then head back out into the open waters of the Gulf to spawn the next generation.

It is when these fish venture out into the open Gulf of Mexico that they become the most illusive and mysterious in their travels. Along the Texas Coast, there are years we seem to be covered up with tarpon, and there are other years we seem to be completely devoid of fish. During those lean years, why and where did they go? Seem to be the most common questions.

Trying to formulate an understanding of tarpon migration must start by recognizing the facts, which are indisputable. For example, we do know that tarpon like warm water. Although there have been reports of tarpon being seen by winter sport divers who visit deepwater oil platforms off the Louisiana coast, it would appear that the majority of tarpon leave the upper and middle coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico when old man winter grabs hold. In fact, when a really cold front hits, these fish seem to bug out almost instantaneously. One theory, which seems intellectual credible, is that a tarpon’s feeding behavior is quickly curtailed by cooling water temperatures. This decrease in feeding activity occurs in conjunction with a rapid urge to migrate to southern latitudes. This fact may account for fewer hookups as these fish rapidly move away from the cooling water temperatures. Whatever the cause, any tarpon addict knows that once the surface water temperatures start to hover around seventy-five degrees, the fish are all but gone.

Once these fish leave our waters, they do not begin to show up in force again until the following spring in Florida. Where they go between fall and spring is somewhat of a mystery; however, there have been some winter tag returns from Vera Cruz and the Yucatan, which suggest the fish may find a wintering home along the coastline of the Southern Gulf.

In addition to a flurry of activity along the Florida coastline in spring, there is also a recognizable concentration of fish which begin to show themselves off Vera Cruz starting in late April and May. By June, there are often reports of a number of schools of tarpon being cited off the lower and upper Texas coast. So what is the explanation for two schools of fish?

Texas tarpon guide, Capt. Mike Williams has his own theory. He believes that there are two distinct schools of migrating fish each year. This theory is based on probably more years of observing tarpon than any other tarpon captain in the state. Williams thinks that the school of fish migrating up the Florida coast contains a population of larger fish. This theory appears to be supported by the reports of fish caught off Texas in the spring. These early arrivals are rarely larger than 120 lbs. The thought is that the tarpon which comprise Texas’ first schools of fish may be a separate population which was significantly and adversely effected by gill net fishing activities in Mexico in the late 60's through the early 80's. The decrease in this western Gulf population may have caused the apparent disappearance of tarpon by most observers along the Texas coast.

Williams however believes that the tarpon never really disappeared. This may be because he has primarily focused on the schools of tarpon, which were coming through the waters of the Lone Star State after having migrated around the Gulf from Florida. This is the group of silver kings, which is comprised of the record breakers and account for the majority of the landings from August through the middle of October along the upper Texas coast.

Williams believes that both the early Texas school of tarpon and the Florida school meet off the mouth of the Mississippi River in middle and late summer after spawning. For the remainder of the warm months, the combined schools of fish feast on the abundance of bait fish cast out into the gulf through the myriad of passes along the delta. Once the water begins to cool and the days begin to get shorter, these fish begin their migration south through the Lone Star State.

Having fished in both Florida in the spring and spent many hours trolling the passes along the mouth of the Mississippi on hot midsummer days, I believe Williams’ observations are probably correct. There is rarely a day when fishing in the summer off the Louisiana coastline that I have not seen more than a hundred fish rolling. On some days, thousands are seen. In fact, I have seen more fish off Louisiana in one day than I have ever seen on any given day fishing in and around Boca Grande in Florida.

As additional credence to Williams’ theories, the activities of tarpon off the Florida coast in late spring and early summer are markedly different than their conduct off Louisiana. In Florida, the fish are in the passes feeding and/or close in shore along the beach. When these fish are on the beach, they are often seen daisy- chaining. Some believe this to be a pre-spawn activity. By the time they show up in the Cajun State, daisy chaining no longer takes place. This would lend some credibility to the thought that daisy chaining is a pre-spawn activity and the fish arriving in Louisiana are post-spawn fish. Once off the mouth of the Mississippi, the tarpon seem to have one thing in mind, food.

If these theories are right, how do you explain the inconsistent appearance of these fish along our coast from year to year? I certainly will not profess to know all the answers to that question but I have made a couple of observations over the past twelve years. I believe the major factor to their early appearance in Texas is run-off.

After spawning in the open Gulf, these fish are looking for food, and the more, the better. Baitfish need nutrients, the Mississippi discharges millions of tons of nutrients and baitfish a day. Salmon are known to be able to follow the scent of their stream from hundreds of miles offshore. In fact, salmon can detect the specific scent of the stream in which they were hatched. Why not tarpon? Having spawned, I believe tarpon sniff the Gulf currents for fresh water sources. They follow the scent of ever freshening water right to the mouth of the Mississippi, knowing there will be tons of baitfish to devour.

If this is true, why do we get fish periodically throughout the summer and why are there some years we seem to have fish all summer long? The answer to that question seems to simply be that tarpon are not perfect. Sensing fresh water, some fish find any pass along the coast. The Galveston Jetties are a big source of fresh water being pushed into the Gulf. Some tarpon find that source in search of the Mississippi, but most do not get lost and hit their mark. Only when they begin to migrate south in the late summer and early fall do we get consistent activity along our coastline.

What about those summers when the tarpon are here all summer long? Well, when I look back at my log book over the past twelve years, I have found that the years when we had massive floods in May and early June and the Mississippi River basin was rather dry, we had plenty of tarpon to go around all summer. This is not to say that fresh water is the key. Most Texas tarpon guides will say that too much fresh water is not a good thing. It is my observation that lots of fresh water followed by a rapid dry spell which returns the beach waters to their regular salty state seems to be the key to summer long tarpon along our coast. I believe that when we have such massive freshwater run-off, the post-spawn tarpon in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico become confused and head to our coast thinking they are headed for the Mississippi."
http://www.texastarpon.net/tactics.htm#migration


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