Flagler/ Palm Coast April Fishing Report
First light, outgoing tide and add schools of mullet, this formula makes for a successful morning outing for trout. Tie on your favorite topwater plug and get to casting, gator trout will be lurking around the bait pods along the ICW.. Working topwater and sinking plugs parallel to dropoffs and around creek mouths will guarantee success! Don’t over look deeper creek holes as “Gator Trout” can be taking residence.
Redfish will also be patrolling the shell banks of the ICW working the bait pods during low tides. Shallow flats that are holding mullet will have redfish shadowing mullet pods looking to eat all the shrimp and crabs the mullet kick up. A Fish Bites Extreme watermelon red flake color jerkbait on a Slayer 4/0 Penetrator 3/16oz. hook is great search bait for flats fishing. Oyster bed hopping and casting to spartina grass edges will also produce strikes as long as the mullet are around. If redfish are busting mullet switch to mullet imitators like my new favorite lure the Sebile stick shad in hollow mullet. Live bait fisherman should soak live mullet or shrimp around oyster bars on high tide using Daiichi 1/0-3/0 circle hooks.
Flounder should be chewing steady in the flats, creeks and inlet on outgoing tide being my favorite. Live finger mullet on jighead or using a soft plastic paddle tail and a jighead slowly bounced across the bottom will produce flatties. Jig fisherman will target deeper dropoffs with mud minnows or finger mullet. Doormats around the inlets will fall for 5-7 inch mullet on a fish finder rig. I prefer to use Daiichi D18Z J-hooks as I miss a lot of flounder on circle hooks.
Big Blue fish should continue to chew around Matanzas Inlet, they will bite just about any lure that resembles a mullet, first light is best for numbers. Ladyfish will be stacking up outgoing tides busting baitfish in the bigger creeks that will keep the kids occupied. Light jigs and paddle tails or live shrimp will get slammed by lady fish on every cast once you find them.
Capt. Chris Herrera
www.PalmCoastFishing.com
386-503-7800