April is here, and the fishing couldn’t be better. Our mild winter is soaring in full swing and our gamefish are feeding. Bait that would usually just start trickling in has been on the flats for weeks or longer. The grass seems to be taking hold in some of the areas we lost over the winter.
So far 2015 has been a great year for catching, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. Summer comes fast and so will the “real” heat! Look for the schools of bait fish like pinfish, finger mullet, glass minnows, and whitebaits to explode in the shallows as we roll into summer. Most of the redfish and trout will be actively feeding on these baits. Redfish will still hunt and tail on a shrimp or crab year round, but spring is when they start to really smash the bait schools. Early mornings with walk-the-dog style topwater lures on mullet filled flats will produce some of the most explosive strikes in fishing. Seatrout are tailor made for feeding on the surface with an up slung mouth and camouflage to hide in the grass. This violent outburst seatrout call feeding has a tendency to send the fish and your plug hurling through the air. Not always landing close enough for the seatrout to come back for a second, third, or fourth hit. Unless the sting of hooks is felt a seatrout will continue to hit a well worked lure all the way to the kayak, and then smash it again as you lift it from the water. Though, with the trout’s tendency to lay in wait, if they don’t fallow they might be in the same spot. This goes the same if you see an explosion in the distance. Work your topwater lures at varying speeds until you dial in the bite, and as the sun climbs switch to a Slayer Inc. (SST) paddle tail rigged weedless. Mullet of all sizes and other life should be present or search for a new section of the lagoon. Long casts far from a slow moving kayak will get hit by the biggest and most weary “gator” trout. Those of you launching kayaks from the port should be able to manage some average sized tripletail on floating weeds and debris that the easterly winds will push in. Concentrate on the debris that gets caught in the weeds, don’t forget to probe deep around that floating structure and buoys. The inside port has been kind, with a solid mixed bag of fun fish to tighten a line on. Some good catches of snook have been had on the north jetty, and other structure inside. Find a pattern that works and move around.
Pinfish and large sized mullet will get nods from those large mouthed linesiders. Along with the snook in wharfs that are fishable, medium sized jacks and some flounder could take a swipe at any artificial and live bait you are comfortable throwing. Though not in numbers or size yet, Mangrove snapper have started their yearly move into the port, more to come from those tasty hard fighting little snappers.