By Eric Henson
Well it’s been a pretty decent winter this year with consistent cool temperatures but, March will bring in the new season. The fish that have been hiding in the warmer waters will be inching their way out onto the flats. After the chilly winter they will be hungry and looking forward to their next meal. Some species will start to spawn, and some species will start their journey towards their spawning grounds. Nonetheless, this all makes for a great time of year to get your lines wet. Trout will be spawning at this time and it will generally be the last time to catch a trophy SW Florida “Gator Trout” until next fall. Be careful handling them as they are generally loaded with eggs getting ready to release for the trout’s future generations. Their mouths easily tear and have one or two dagger-like fangs on the top with lots of sheathed little teeth throughout the rest of it. One of the safest ways to handle them is by wetting your hand before picking them up so that it helps from scratching their slime coat off that keeps them protected from many things. Then if you would like a picture, snap a quick pic and get them back into the water as fast as possible.
This is also a great time of year to catch trophy size snook as they make their way towards the gulf to spawn in the summer. These fish are very strong and a little bit hardier, they should also be handled with extreme care. First you must watch out for their razor-sharp gill plate! Snook can be easily held by their mouths, lipped like a bass. You must make sure to not hold the larger ones just by their mouths, but support their second half as well. If you hold a larger fish without any support to their body, you will break their spine and release a toxin into their bloodstream which will slowly kill them within a few days.
And finally, the redfish. These fish are probably one of the strongest and hardiest fish out of the three gamefish, but also not invincible to miss-handling. Some people lip them, but I’ve had them completely rip all the skin off my thumb once so never again for me. lol! Wetting your hands, handling them as little as possible, and then releasing them as quickly as possible gives them the best chance of survival.
I generally release all these species by holding them by the tail upright in the water, slowly moving them side to side until they give a kick to let you know they are ready to go. We all love to get that grip and grin shot of your best catches but please do your part in safely releasing your fish for the future populations of your beautiful fisheries. Tight lines and Tight knots to everyone!