SURF & PIER – APRIL FISHING REPORT

This month is the BEST month of the year for surf fishing! The pompano migration is in full swing. This month you can catch them from Fernandina, all the way down to Daytona. They won’t be around long, so go now, and go often. The ideal water temperature is 68 degrees, however, now is the time to go, while the temp is between 65 and 75.

Along with the pompano, will be all the other favorites, black drum, redfish, whiting, and bonnet head sharks. You can catch all of these, using a 2/0 Eagle Claw l197 hook. All of these fish will eat a sand flea. However, they can be difficult to catch, so let’s talk about the go-to bait, which is very fresh shrimp. Fresh, never frozen, heads on, local shrimp is the best. Live shrimp, put in a baggie, then placed on top of ice, is a little more costly, but well worth it. They don’t have to stay alive, just fresh. Clams, fresh or frozen, will produce; they’re just harder to keep on the hook. Blue crab knuckles work well also. Here is a link to a video I did on crab knuckles.
http://howtodoflorida.com/episode/shrimping-surf-fishing/baiting-with-blue-crab/

Whether the tide is incoming, or outgoing, you want your bait on the sand bar, if you’re targeting pompano or whiting. My favorite tide is the outgoing, when the swells first start to break on the bar. These waves stir up all the natural bait that’s out there. Sand fleas, donax clams, and small crabs, get flushed out of the sand by the wave action. Then, the fish rush up on the bar and feed on them.  That’s why you want your bait on the bar. Hope this helps. See you on the beach!