Spring has arrived and the bait is everywhere! This time of the year is some of the best fishing we have to offer in our area. We are still catching a ton of gator trout in big numbers using mostly artificial lures at first light. Topwater lures such as the Skitter Walk and She Pup by MirroOlure are some of my favorite baits for trout. Give them a slow âwalk the dogâ style retrieval with an occasional stall. These trout will be very aggressive and should put on a great show when breaking the surface. As it gets later in the day, switch to your plastics and use a more natural color. Cover it with some Pro-Cure Shrimp Scent and you should have no problem hooking up a few.
Redfish are stacked up in big schools right now to the point that you almost canât get away from them. They are still sitting out in the open flats on the low tides. Once that tide starts moving in, youâll need to get to the spot you would like to fish as soon as possible to beat the schools coming in. Once youâre set up, throw a piece of cut bait on the bottom and then either a select shrimp or whitebait under a bobber to give them a variety. Make sure you stay in that one spot and give it a little bit of time. The fish will be swimming through and you should be able to get multiple hook ups from each school. For the artificial guys who like to chase the redfish, use either a top pup worked at a moderate pace or switch to a bait called the Slick Lure and add your favorite Pro-Cure scent to it.
Snook are showing great numbers in their Spring spot. There are a ton of cookie cutter sized fish ranging from the 22 to 28-inch range which is great for our fishery. Look for three things to target these fish–structure, current and bait. If you find those three things the snook will almost always be around the area. Drift a nice size white bait or pinfish using 30 to 40-pound fluorocarbon leader and a 2/0 hook. They are grouped up right now, so donât be shocked if youâre catching four to five out of one spot.
Remember that we have the new trout rule in effect now. You cannot keep a trout over 20 inches. Be careful and release them with ease. Also, snook and redfish are still closed until at least May. Tight lines everyone!