ST. AUGUSTINE: April Fishing Report

NOW, is my absolute favorite time of the year to fish in Northeast Florida.  Spring weather will bring in the baitfish (mullet, pogies, etc.) and just about every predatory fish will be on the hunt for a good meal. Redfish will still be on the flats in schools, trout will be feeding along the ICW banks, and the drum and flounder will be stacked in the deeper creek holes. Just about everywhere you go, you’re going to run into some good fishing over the next couple of months.
We’ve had a warm early Spring thus far, but the redfish are still schooling. Look for the big schools of reds on the lower tide stages (especially on the negative low tides we get, with a good west wind). I like to find flats that have somewhat of a deeper escape route for the fish. A perfect setup, would be a large flat on the edge of the ICW that has a deeper area that drains into the ICW. The fish will absolutely stack up in those “drains”, as the tide gets really low. If live bait is your thing, a mud minnow or live shrimp pegged to a ¼ oz. Saltwater Assassin jighead will be the perfect presentation to the schooled redfish. If you’re going with artificials, I like to use a Saltwater Assassin “Lil Boss” paddle tail on the same jig. Locate the schools by looking for large wakes and/or “muds” that the fish will cause by moving around. Make sure to lead the fish by quite a bit, as they can, and will be a little spooky this time of year. You can also find some big schools of redfish stacked in the creek holes on the same low tides. Push back as far as possible in the creeks, and find that last deep spot; you’re sure to find a few good fish hanging out waiting for the tide to turn.

Redfish won’t get all the glory this time of year; it’s also troutski time! Trout will really turn on with the warming air and water temps. Some of my biggest trout are caught this time of year. Toss your favorite top-water plug at first, and last light along the ICW shell banks for some great big trout action. Once the sun comes up a bit, switch to a sub-surface plug, or your favorite soft plastic on a jighead. The soft plastic and jighead rig account for a good number of trout catches on my boat this time of year. I like to use the twitch-twitch-pauseretrieval method. The fish usually take the lure on the pause. Target creek mouths on the outgoing tide, and the ICW shell banks, on the incoming. Any kind of rocks, docks, or structure with moving water around them will also be holding some nice trout, and of course, the live shrimp under a popping cork sometimes can’t be beat.

April is a great time of the year for black drum in our area. The monster drum (sometimes up to 80 lbs. plus) started to show last month, and there still should be a few around. They can be targeted in the deepest areas of the ICW, and in all the area inlets. A halved blue crab on the bottom is the bait of choice for these big dogs. The big ones will be spawning, so make sure to thoroughly revive them to ensure a healthy release, so they can take care of their business, and keep the drum population thriving. I like to target, smaller “slot” sized black drum in the 5 to 10 lb. range.  They can be found schooled in the creek holes and near deeper water structure, such as bridges and jetties. Live or dead shrimp, fiddler crabs, and clams fished along the bottom will all make for some great drum action. Tight Lines!