This has been one of the longest winters I can remember, and I don’t think I have looked forward to the warmth of spring so much. While the fishing has been pretty good through all the cold, it is going pop when the water and the days start to warm. Over the past few weeks I have noticed a lot of fish starting to look for food on the shallower flats along our coast, and although the water is still cold by normal standards, they are staying out there and enjoying the sun warmed shallows. The only thing that was missing from the equation was a good food source, until this past week. The first wave of sardines has made the trek out of the warm winter hideouts to start looking for food and there migrating brothers coming from the south.
This was the first week I have put the cast-net in the boat and caught sardines, it made a big difference in the catching. Trout, Redfish, and even a few Snook all fell for the old reliable baits.It was almost strange to see the fish actually attack the baits with fury, a very big difference from how they have been just sucking in the artificials we have been throwing. As we keep moving toward the summer and the days get longer, the water will continue to warm and the bite will get red-hot. The fish have been waiting for the warm up as much as we have and the way they are feeding in proof they are ready to go!
I was able to run a few trips this past week, and the one that sticks out in my head is the one I ran today. It was the shortest trip I have run in a while, but a good client of mine that lives on the water called me and said he had a couple of hours the burn and wanted to know if it was worth coming out? I told him I woul;d pick him up at ten o’ clock at his dock. We only went to two spots and for three hours we caught Trout, Redfish, and even a Snook. It seemed like we had a fish on almost the whole time we were out. Needless to say he was glad he made the call.
I can honestly say I am very excited about the next couple of months fishing, with a cold winter behind us, the fishing is ready to explode. I still have a few days left in April if you want to get in on what is coming.
