April is kind of that in between month from the cobia run, dolphin run and waiting for the kings to show back up. Don’t get me wrong, there is still cobia around and there has been a few mahi being caught, but the good run is coming up.
The bait starts to show up more consistently now that the water is warming up as well. It has been tough to find live bait. There are still schools of threadfins around that are taking the sabiki rigs just fine. Kings will start showing up very soon and if you remember last April was a stellar month for the big ones. Live bait is a must though. Threadfins and pogies work great, but if you cannot find those particular baits, sabiki the cans for blue runners, sardines and bluefish.
Pogies will usually start to show up first in the port. Most of the time they will be on top flipping on top but you need to watch your machine. Wait till you mark those good (a big red ball on the sounder) then throw your net. The better net to use is a custom net from Tim Wade with a 50’ leash.
They’re made for catching pogies in the port and like everything else; you get what you pay for. Once the water warms a little more you will find the bait on the beach. The best indicator to locate them is all of the birds diving as they’re much easier to catch in the shallower water. The second indicator is the 20 boats piled up casting on them. Also look for the mud patches, many people drive past them. These muddy spots are made from the pogies balling up on the bottom and actually whirl pooling the water which makes for good bait pod fishing right now too. With all the new bait migrating into the area the predator fish will be feeding on them. The last few weeks, jigging the bait pods has produced big bull reds and a few cobia. Don’t hesitate to troll live bait around these schools for a king.
Mahi are starting to slowly show up, they’ve been deep lately and not many numbers. Usually once May comes around the numbers will start to improve. Continue to look for the weed lines, color breaks and temp changes. Ballyhoo rigged on small lures work great.
Have fun and be safe don’t forget about the Coastal Angler Magazine Boating & Fishing Expo hosted by Boater’s Exchange in Rockledge April 26th. I’ll be there along with several other captains. This is a great time to meet and greet and get a good hands on approach. Bring your gear and we will show you rigging techniques, bring your net and we will show you a few throw pointers. Ask your questions and we will do our best to answer them! We all learn on days like this.
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