by Capt. Patrick Smith, Contributing Writer
It’s April already and for me that means Tarpon time!!! On the beaches by day and the bridges at night I will be spending every available minute chasing them. We have smaller tarpon throughout the winter, but these are big fish we’re talking about. On the beach side it can be tough to beat a live mullet. But if you’re like me and want to use artificial, I like to throw big hogy paddle tails with a 1 oz jig head in pink or a bone color.
And for flies, I like a tarpon toad in black and purple in low light and chartreuse or yellow the rest of the day. When running the beach, the chance of encountering a school of giant jacks is pretty good and a larger popper should get some action quick. If the night time is the right time for you then pick a late tide and go for it. My lures of choice for my big bait would be a hogy 9” hduv in black with a 10/0 jig head and for the smaller offering a doa terroreyez in root beer, or golden bream will usually do the trick. For flies at night I like a pilchard colored ep baitfish. Plenty of snook will be around also, so having a schminnow or whats up doc rigged up on a 7-9 wt will let you hook up whenever you feel like it.
In the freshwater the peacocks are finishing the first spawn and should be feeding good, again. Anything resembling a baitfish should work great: rattle traps, flukes and jerkbaits are a few that I use. This is the time of year when you need to use good judgement. It’s not very sporting to pull a fish off a bed when its guarding eggs. If there are two fish, catch one and leave the other to protect them or the cichlids will decimate the nest. Largemouth bass fishing is still good throughout the county. I like to get out early and fish top waters like Zara spooks and zoom horny toads. Get out and enjoy the decent weather because the crazy summer heat is right around the corner. The clown knife population is going strong and if you haven’t landed one of these guys yet, get out and make it happen. A live shiner or shiny jerk bait is your best bet. I’ve seen them rolling in just about every canal I’ve looked in; even a few in the western portion.
Good luck out there
Capt. Patrick Smith
561-503-0848
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