by Capt. Billy Norris
The past month has been great fishing here at Pale Horse Fishing Charters! Backwater has been producing quality fish and the nearshore reefs are fishable again! In the bay, quality sheepshead are being boated every day. Again, remember that this time of year sheepshead are spawning, so catch and release is highly encouraged. Big jacks and snook are also being caught consistently using whitebait. We’ve been catching tons of redfish, however most are rats in the 12-20 inch range. Although not many monster reds have been landed, days with 20-30 redfish caught have not been uncommon.
Offshore, the bite has returned! The reefs are odd however, keeping guides and recreational anglers on their toes, never knowing what you will catch. What I believe happened, is that this past year’s red tide killed everything alive and we are catching what is returning now that the water is better. Common species last year like gigantic goliaths and cobia have been absent, but others have taken their place. We have been catching tons of margates (great table fare), mangrove snapper, big (breeding) sheepshead, and small grouper on the bottom. As far as pelagics, there are a ton of blacktip and spinner sharks, bonito, and kings around. In addition, the tripletail fishing this year has been the best I’ve seen it in over a decade! The bite is back on and fish are waiting to be caught!
