Many of you are originally from areas of the country where it gets cold. Really cold — snow and ice cold. If you’re in that club, you may regard Florida’s winter weather as very mild. In fact, you may think we don’t have a winter at all. Well, you can think that if you want, but it’s not exactly right. Cold is relative to where you are, not where you’re from.

OK, 40 degrees might not be very cold to you if you’re used to it. But this is subtropical Southwest Florida. Our fish are adapted to warm water. You don’t catch rainbow trout, walleye and smallmouth bass here — they need cool water. Some of our fish really prefer water even warmer than what we have. Snook are basically at the northern edge of their range. Tarpon are tropical by nature, although Charlotte Harbor is an important nursery ground for them.