[dropcap]A[/dropcap]pril showers bring May flowers. We are stuck in an El Nino weather pattern which means that the rain is not quite done yet. The trout bite will push from the shoreline and move out into the bay to the deeper grass flats of the Nature Coast. Starting out in six feet of water and working your way out to twelve should work well for you. One of the good things about fishing on the deeper flats: a larger variety of predatory fish. You can and will find a mixed bag of tasty species out there this time of year. Mackerel, cobia, sea bass, and grouper are just a few of them that could find their way to your bait and hopefully the grill shortly thereafter.
The redfish bite is getting stronger as well. On a recent trip, Ed and Brent a regular client of mine wanted to target them with some artificials. The tide was perfect for this type of fishing and we managed to stay on some good fish for most of the day.
At one spot, I poled the boat into a narrow ditch upon arrival. Ed made a short cast to the back of the boat with his crank bait. Just as the bait hit the water, a big red, I mean well over slot, charged out of nowhere and inhaled the bait. Ed reacted with a jerk and a set to the treble hook nestled right in the top of this monster’s mouth and you’ll never believe what happened next; the hook pulled. As anglers, we all know this horrible feeling of missing a trophy fish while desperately attempting casts for one more shot at the thing. Today, that was our first and last shot at that particular fish. The whole thing happened 40 feet from the boat with all three of us watching. Unfortunately, Brent and I could only bear witness to the agony Ed was feeling. How in the world can a fish attack a bait with two treble hooks attached to it and not get hooked?
That heartbreaking story aside, we ended up having a great day fishing and wound up bagging a few nice reds to take home for dinner. I look for the redfish bite to get even stronger and more consistent through the month of May.
Unfair Lures have been a hot topic around the Crystal River area. Several of the bait shops that I frequent are telling me that they are flying off the shelves.They should work well on most inshore species and have hear that the Snook are tearing them up. I personally have caught trout and redfish on the shrimp and mullet lures.