Generous amounts of solar love will shine brightly upon the offshore fishing zone of Martin County, during the early spring days of April. The rays of the Florida sun will illuminate a near coastal ocean that will play host to some of the most prized saltwater grocery trophies in the world. Cobia, snapper, mahi, and king mackerel will top this briny hit list and will be found around and atop the renowned reef system, east of our St. Lucie Inlet. The offshore fish hunters of April will delight in engaging in strategies that involve both surface and bottom fishing during open weather windows this month. April can still be a windy month and produce rough sea conditions (as was the case, the last two years), so as always, fishing crews will continue to monitor daily weather reports and extended forecasts to best plan a day`s outing.
Cobia will make a strong showing during the golden days of April and will be found in many dynamic scenarios of the local liquid playing field. Hungry packs of cobia will be attracted to all types of reef structures, both naturally occurring and artificial, and will fall to live and dead baits presented throughout the water column. Live baits are especially effective and will prove to be irresistible to a cobe in the right mood. Besides being found around bottom structures, cobes have a tendency to follow and swim along with larger sea animals, like manta rays and Southern stingrays, turtles, and sharks.
Casting to a cobia towing behind a larger sea creature is best achieved using three- to four-ounce jigs, tipped with a long ribbon of squid. Bottom fishing for the many species of the snapper family will continue to be a go to strategy for Treasure Coast meat hunters in April. Large mutton and mangrove snapper will be available in good numbers along the reef line in 70 to 90 feet of water and allow fishermen to test their angling finesse while attempting to capture these fish athletes of the ocean floor. Wrestling a large snapper to the surface can be a full contact and exhilarating moment, made more satisfying as the filets hit the frying pan.
With this in mind, pack the cooler with plenty of dead bait, catch some “live-ies” if you can, and have an assortment of jigs standing by. And, don`t forget to pull out some coastal recipes to fully enjoy the salty grocery trophies of April.
FORECAST BY: Capt. Rocky Carbia
Safari I
Pirates Cove Resort and Marina
4307 SE Bayview St. Port Salerno, Florida
Reservations: (772) 334-4411
www.Safari-1.com
