Capt. Philip Watson
March is finally here, so we can switch out of this wintertime fishing pattern. The bait will start to move north, and the predator fish will be sure to follow it. We will have Kingfish, Spanish Mackerel, Bonita, and sharks headed our way in no time! This time of year, it’s a good idea to learn how to tie a haywire twist when rigging with wire. Most of these fish are toothy and will break your line if it touches their teeth.
Most of these toothy fish like to frequent shipwrecks or high relief areas that attract a lot of bait. Look for threadfins or sardines flipping on top of the water and you’ll be sure to find something that’s hungry. Another thing to note also is while bottom fishing, throw out a flat line. It can be baited with something as simple as a frozen threadfin to a feisty pinfish.
This month, our highlighted trip was with the Roads crew. Zack brought along his children and his nieces for a 6-hour offshore charter. Hogfish was the target and Hogfish is what they got! We left the dock on a flat calm day so when I pointed west, we didn’t stop until we hit 90’ of water. After anchoring up, Porgy’s started to hit the deck along with some short scamp grouper and mangrove snapper. Once the bite slowed down a little the first hogfish came up, followed by a monster porgy. The current changed so I motored to another small ledge nearby where two more nice Hogfish came up. We started to run a little short on time, so we fired up the motors and found a nice spot in 75’ where we caught some more nice Porgys, Amberjack, Scamps, and even a keeper Red Grouper. These kids absolutely wore the fish out!
Captain Philip Watson
Just Kickin Back Charters
Anna Maria Island Florida
941-226-1100