Capt. Dave Stephens
March rolled around, and we thought spring had sprung. Well Mother Nature said, “Not so fast”. We had some of our coolest weather in March. Well, April has arrived and spring should be here to stay. Even though we had a few hiccups with cold fronts, the fishing has been very good. I know some anglers are not happy with the fish closures, and I for one was a skeptic on certain things. My issue was, if you’re not fixing the problem it’s going to continue. I can honestly say I have seen significant changes in our fishery. For one, I have caught more reds this spring that I have in years. Over the past week we have caught 10-15 quality reds on half day charters. All of these fish have been top slot or oversized reds. Another fish that has made a big come back is sea trout. Last winter/spring our trout fishery was nonexistent in the upper harbor. During the cooler weather trout is without a doubt our top fishery. This past winter we had some great trout fishing. The past week on the flats, I have caught trout like in years past. Often, I would catch large fish while targeting snook and reds. This spring that has begun to happen again. I have been catching some really nice trout hanging off the shorelines; most of these fish have been over 18”. So just maybe these fish closures are doing what they’re supposed to do. From what I have personally seen, it is working.
However, I do believe more needs to been done to protect us from repeating history.
We can’t talk about spring without talking snook. Without a doubt one of the most temperamental fish with water temps. April should be a bang-up month! These guys have been laying low, awaiting constant warm water temps to put on the feed bags. Now we should only see a rise in water temps AND snook activity. The flats swill start to see a large number of hungry fish moving out. Look for feeding fish close to deep water access, around creek mouths, islands that have deep potholes, and residential canals. Often overlooked by anglers is manmade habitat. Fish don’t know who made the structure or depth. They do know they like it though. I myself am not a big fan of canal fishing, but there’s time it pays in a big way. The key to catching more fish is exploring new areas and not being afraid to think outside the box. Our fishery is on the rebound; it’s up to us as stewards of this wonderful harbor to keep it that way!! Give us a call or send an email, our charters are private and customized for you!
