Hello Spring Fishing!
The bite has been nothing short of excellent in April and I can only see it getting better.
Trout have been very aggressive at sunrise smashing any and everything that passes by them. Throw your favorite topwater baits around oyster bars and you’re sure to get an explosion. It has been very easy to get 15-20 topwater hits within the first hour or two of sunrise. Once you notice it starting to slow down on top, switch to a jig, I prefer an eighth of an ounce so I can keep it a little bit higher in the water column. As for live bait, don’t worry if you can’t get white bait, load up on two to three inch pinfish and set them under a bobber.
Redfish have been the bread and butter this spring, my clients have had 30 redfish days and it has happened on multiple trips! Just like I said with not needing white bait for trout, you don’t need it for reds either. I have found reds in schools of up to a 100 and oftentimes half of the school will eat before they catch on that their friends are coming back with sore lips! A tail hooked pinfish free lined under the mangroves has been the ticket.
As for the artificial angler, eighth of an ounce jigs rigged with your favorite paddle tail or fluke bounced through a mullet school has seemed to really have these fish wanting to chew. Another bait that I’m a huge fan of is a bait called “the slick”. In my opinion the slick is the deadliest low tide bait for reds, it’s a bait rigged weedless on an owner 4/0 beast hook. The offering is presented by making very long casts and giving light twitches, the reds see it as an injured baitfish and crush it 90 percent of the time without hesitation.
Snook have fully come back from our 2012-2013 freeze, and they have attitude! There have been tons of snook caught ranging from 20 inches up to the 34 inch mark the past couple months. Without consistent temperatures, this makes me feel that it’s going to be an amazing bite all throughout the summer. White bait is a little more crucial to use for snook unlike the redfish and trout, if you get the bait, you’ll get the snook!
Target snook in areas that have three things: current, structure and ambush points. If you find those three things I’m almost certain you will catch a snook. Target snook as early as you can in the morning because the bite slows up the later it gets in the day. Snook seem to be a little more finicky mid-day compared to reds and trout.
Snook will eventually move out from the mangroves and docks to go to their breeding grounds. While one can still catch plenty of snook during this time, I ask that you please handle them with care and to get them back into the water as soon as possible. The redfish will try and stay in the shade during the hotter days to come, once the water gets to the mid-80s and beyond you will have to give them a little more time before they eat. The bigger trout will move to deeper waters in the next few months, but that still won’t stop you from catching your limit for a family fish fry!
To book a charter with Capt. Bobby Carroll and the Florida Fishing Experience you can contact him at (727) 271-3257