The bite is on! Seatrout are on the move and biting! Best action for seatrout has been on the inside (as opposed to the sound) around creeks, rivers, sloughs as well as around some hammocks. These fish are taking live shrimp, mud minnows as well a variety of plastics. Some fishermen are reporting large catches of seatrout with only few legal size. Others are catching large roe trout on the inside. Redfish action is picking as well! Shrimp and mud minnows have been working well but don’t overlook fishing a small menhaden or mullet. Redfish will take any of these baits with zeal! Spring is a great time of the year to look for birds feeding on bait fish. Typically bait can get trapped in pockets on a grass line. The birds are an excellent indicator of food chain. Going to the birds doesn’t automatically produce fish but it can. Sometimes the sight can be spectacle. The key is actively feeding birds. Active birds indicate a food chain in process. Birds standing at the ready could be an indication the bite is about to happen. In either case birds are good scene. Another good scene is seeing bait. Whatever bait is present that’s the bait you should be fishing. Fishing has been good. Water temperature is up (mid 60’s) and the reds have been hot! There have been a few flounders caught but not many as of yet. The whiting bite has been excellent for the past two or three weeks. Several whiting over 13″ are not uncommon. Whiting catches have been strong. With the whiting follows a variety of sharks. Cold sharks are now scare and bonnet head sharks are replacing them on the sand bars.
Tides for the coming are building. The bite will likely be steadily improving throughout the week. On Saturday April 29th the high tide is 8.3 in the evening not effecting day fishermen. Provided the wind doesn’t too hard should be “good fishing”. Even in windy conditions fisherman can find fish by fishing a lee shore or protected areas. Look for spots out of the wind and clean water. When fishing for redfish concentrate on the short grass; for seatrout fish the drift or in the current. Adam’s Bait Shop and Bandy’s have had plenty of shrimp.
Hope this of help! Practice catch and release whenever possible. Keep only those fish you wish to eat and release the rest! Thank you!
Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan