Both Don Adams and Capt. George Bowen of Bandy’s are struggling to find shrimp. Mrs. Bowen said George was wearing himself out on the river. Shrimp have been difficult to find and when bait shrimpers have been successful the catch is relatively small compared to demand. Thank goodness brown shrimp will start appearing during the latter part of May and the first of June, hence the nickname for these small brown shrimp “junies”. Artificials can work well! The biggest factor when pitching any artificial is confidence. In general opt for clear colors when the water is clear. In murky water look for something that will penetrate. In dark water pitch darker patterns. Finger mullet and mud minnows are great live bait in lieu of shrimp Don Adams said he’s expecting another load of Florida shirmp for the coming week. This bait is a little more expensive; on the other hand, these are hardy shrimp. You better call ahead if your day of fishing is hinging on your visit to the baitshop. Most of our fish have been caught on artificials. Having a clear, a dark and chartreuse will cover most any situation.
Last Week
Tides looked good for fishing. Nonetheless wind and rain made conditions challenging. Windy conditions limited the choices of fishing areas. Rain water runoffs made conditions muddy and almost impossible for fish to feed. There will nice seatrout, flounder and redfish caught when favorable conditions were found. A few large roe trout were caught close to sounds as well as on some near shore wrecks. The whiting bite has likely peaked. More and more sharks are showing up: bonnet heads, sharp nose and others as temperatures heat up. Anticipate the shark bite to heat up! Cobia action has been slow due to cooler than normal water temperature. As conditions quickly warm up anticipate a strong bite to follow!
Coming Week
Relatively small tides means fishermen can fish most of their favorite drops throughout the tide. These can be excellent tides to target flounder. It seems a little early to think of flounder but they’re biting! Try bouncing a large mud minnow on bottom and you’ll likely entice this flat fish. Take your time on the hook set because they’re notoriously slow in committing on the bite.! Fishing will likely be steadily improving a water conditions improve!
Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan