By: Capt. Greg Poland
March in the Florida Keys is a fantastic time to fish, although we closely follow the weather to decide which side to fish on. On real windy days, I’ll make a run to the Everglades, better known as the Backcountry, and fish the shorelines for snook and redfish using medium size spin rods with a jighead tipped with a live shrimp or a pinfish. Stock up on a good selection of jigheads so that you can match the water flow and try fishing them at different stages of the water column from bouncing along the bottom to just under the surface and everywhere in between. You will get strikes everything from a goliath grouper to that snook that you have been chasing.
Use your trolling motor to work down a shoreline and you are bound to find little undercuts or downed tree limbs which are great areas to fish, as these spots hold the bait that the snook are feeding on, so take the time to fish slowly around these areas for greater success. On a calmer day when the wind is not blowing so hard, I like to switch it up a bit and fish the Atlantic side of the Keys for the pelagic species, but I am also going to switch my tackle to a 20lb spinning outfit with a heavier rod.
The baits of choice that I like to use are pilchards, thread fin herring, or ballyhoo. It may take some extra time and you’ll need the patience to catch them, but they are well worth it and if you can load the bait well with them you will be able to do some live chumming and get the bite sparked up!
I run a Contender Bay Boat so I need the weather to be right for this style of fishing, but if you choose your days you can wind up with some great fishing out on the edge of the reef in Islamorada which is about 5-6 miles offshore so it’s an easy run if the conditions change. Please feel free to contact me directly if you are interested in booking a charter with me on my boat or I am willing to get on your boat!
— Contact Capt. Greg at 305.393.3327 or email at gregpoland@icloud.com