Green Cove/ St. Johns April Fishing Report
Well, let’s start right off with mullet. These silver fish are here and want you to catch them. All you need is bait, chum, patience and a little luck and away you got! The mullet wall is just starting to get going. So have patience. It will pick up with the heat that’s coming. Don’t forget those floats, number 2 or 4 hooks and split shot. Then you can get it going.
Next will be the bream. They should be bedding this month. Shell cracker on the shell bars and the bream in the coves are on the hard bottom flats. You can either see the beds of if there’s enough of them, you can smell them. Baits of choice, wigglers and grunt worms, red worms, crickets, beetle spins. Equipment wise, smallest weight you can use, slack line on the bottom. Or suspend under a float near the beds. You may want to check out any pilings or remnants of docks. Pitch that bug around them and hold on!
Crappie or Speckled Perch have been in large numbers at the south end of Crescent Lake. Near Crescent City. Anglers have been catching limit catches of some fish over 2 lbs thats right 2lbs. Not sure how long they will bite but the whole month of march has been excellent for these great eating fish. Live minnows and small jigs are doing most of the catching.
Next up, catfish. These whiskered beauties will be active thinking about feeding up to their spawn. They really like night crawlers, second choice is a shiner. Fish on the bottom and near or in creeks and near the back of coves. So grab the bait and go!
Red fish will increase activity as the bait starts to show up more and more. Catch them on shiners, bass lures, bait shrimp. They like to hunt in or near grass lines. They’ll also enjoy crab baits. Just get it and go.
Bass fishing will be very active post spawn, pre spawn and spawn. All these stages occur this month. Due to the abnormal warm weather, we’ve had a spawn for some of the bass. So look for these to be around the bars and waiting for bait to come past. So they can eat and start gaining strength. The pre spawner will be very active. Finding the ideal bedding spot. Eat what they can getting the female to that area and have those eggs layed. Once layed, the male guards the nest while the female goes off to rest and eat. So what you’ll need is shiners, top water baits, swim baits, frogs and crank bait. Work accordingly and you’ll probably have a fun day fishing.
Well, that’s it for now, so ’til next time, keep your line wet and your lure moving!–Richard.