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Capt. Greg

Trout & Snook Fishing Report

By Fishing Reports

This morning started with a bright full moon and calm winds again, I had my charter meet me at the ramp in New Port Richey just in case bait was tough and we would have to do some traveling to find it.  We left the dock at 6:30am and ran south to the flat that I have been catching bait at, as we pulled up there was one other boat there but they would soon leave. Right now patience is a virtue when it comes to bait, I started chumming and it took 20 minutes or so before I started to see the flash of what we were looking for. The first throw yielded about 10 baits, not at all what I wanted to see. But we kept chumming and the next 4 throws were all 75 or so baits, patience payed off and we were off the catch some fish earlier than the past few days.

With two boys and their dad I decided to start with some faster action, we went to a channel edge and got on a pretty good trout bite for the start of the incoming tide. After several nice big Gator Trout we decided to move on to try and get a Snook or two to bite, the tide was running in hard so we moved to a flat with a bunch of sand holes that the Snook like to lay in. We drifted baits down to the area they should be, and the bites were instant, as soon as the pilchards hit the holes they were smashed. We didn’t get any giants but they were all solid mid slot fish, except for one that could not be stopped and wore through the leader before we could get her turned. After the big girl ripped through the flat the bite slowed down, so we decided to run north to get back ahead of the tide. We took about a 15-minute ride north off of Hudson to see if we could get some Redfish and Snook in a small bay. This little bay is about 15 foot deep so I put the PP Move on anchor lock and we sat motionless for 30 minutes catching snook and reds both. There were not as many fish as I had hoped and after we caught a couple catfish it was time to go.

We had about an hour left in the charter so I decided to try a spot in the Cottee River that I had been catching a few trout and snook. As we pulled in there was a boat setting on the bar, so we settled in on a dock that usually holds a few fish also. I started chumming and we saw a few pops one of the boys made a perfect cast and after watching the pilchard run for his life, his line came tight and a nice sized Snook went airborne. After we landed him we caught a few Jack Cravelle, and a couple ladyfish, and then the tide quit and so did the bite.

 Tomorrow will be another early day and hopefully the bait will get just a little bit easier. At least the weather is beautiful and the fish are eating.

 

Till tomorrow, tight lines

Capt. Greg DeVault

Tarpon Springs Fishing Report

By Fishing Reports

Thank god it’s Monday! Words only a fishing guide would say, but after the number of boats on the water this past weekend I was very thankful it was Monday today. I left the dock early today in anticipation of another tough morning catching bait. It was a beautiful ride out to the bait flat with a big full moon and glass flat conditions, when I arrived I was the only one there and it would stay that way until just before I left. And although bait was better it was still tough, and took several throws of the net to secure enough bait for the day.

I backed up the pick-up time for my charter to 9 am to give me a little extra time to get bait. I met my Charter at Nicks Park in New Port Richey right on time and with bait, defiantly a better start than yesterday. Since the trout bite was so good on the incoming tide yesterday I decided to start there. As we pulled in the tide was ripping in, and as soon as we put baits in the water we had fish on. We had plenty of bait today so I stayed with the trout until everyone had gotten their fill. 

The tide was coming in, but we still had a couple hours before high so I decided to try for some snook in a small cul-de-sac bay off of Tarpon Springs. Once we arrived I noticed the water had still not warmed up much, but it was over 70 so I was hopeful. I threw out some chum to try and get them fired up but only had one pop, we put the pilchards to work and immediately had the aggressive one hit again. It was a decent snook about 25 inches, but that was the only one we could entice.

The tide had topped out and the sun popped out so I decided to look for some Cobia while I waited on the outgoing water, the incoming tide had brought with it cooler water and with 68 degree water the Cobia were a no show. We were close to the area where I had got on the redfish yesterday, I usually don’t hit areas two days in a row, but it was so good yesterday I decided to give it a try.

With the outgoing tide this time I set up on the opposite side of them, and I drifted a pilchard and a piece of cut bait to them. For the first 10 minutes, nothing happened and I wasn’t sure it was going to happen. I got into my tower and I could see them moving just outside our baits, so I lifted the power poles and drifted up ten yards or so. The first bait into them was an instant bite, and a gorgeous 26 inch redfish was in the boat. Unfortunately, that would be the only bite we would get from them, I could see them moving around our baits, but I don’t think they had forgotten the beating they took yesterday.

As we were heading back to the dock I had one more spot I wanted to hit on the outgoing tide. It was a spot I did very well at last spring and haven’t messed with much this year. As we pulled up I didn’t notice the mullet that usually covered this spot, but we gave it a shot and boy were we rewarded. Once the baits hit the water they were running for their lives, after a large boil and the telltale “pop” it was fish on. The fight was that of a redfish, so we thought, strong runs and twisting pulls had us fooled, as the fish got close to the boat we realized it was a huge Gator Trout. Once in the boat it measured 26 inches and weighed almost 6 pounds on the boga grip, a true trophy trout for the Pasco County coast.

 With beautiful weather forecasted and great tides for the rest of the week, I’m looking forward to some great fishing this week.

 

Till tomorrow, tight lines

Capt. Greg DeVault

New Port Richey Reds and Trout

By Fishing Reports

This morning was an early start as it was Sunday and on Saturday I don’t think there was a person left onshore. As I started out to the bait flat I noticed that the air felt thicker and had a smell I hadn’t smelled in a while, it was the smell of rain. Our weather has been so consistent lately that I didn’t even bother checking on it for the last few days, but as I pulled up the radar on my phone I saw it, lots of green and orange. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be good or bad, but we were going to find out.

After the debacle of the day before with boats all over me at the bait flat, I decided to go elsewhere, and hopefully have it to myself. Well, I did have it all to myself, even the bait didn’t show up. After 2 hours of throwing the net and moving around, I had 40 pilchards to show for my effort. But I was able to get a bunch of pinfish and some giant threadfins, so off I went to see what we could do.

I met my charter for the day at Nicks Park in New Port Richey, I was a few minutes late but I had bait and a plan. We were at the start of a strong incoming tide, I have had a school of redfish that I have needed high water to get on and today we would have it. But while I was letting water rise we went to my channel edge to get started with some nice big Gator Trout. With the hard incoming tide the Trout bite was on and we were getting bit on every bait, that would normally not be a problem, but today I had a very limited number of Pilchards and didn’t want to use them all on the trout. So we decided that we would leave them biting and head over to where the redfish have been hanging out. This school of reds is not a secret so it gets a lot of pressure, but it usually at the wrong time as the “ get in there as soon as you can guys” hit them on the lowest water they can get to them on. And the other difference today was we had low pressure, cloud cover, and rain, all good things for a strong bite. We eased in and found them lying comfortably on some rocks, we dropped the baits back to them and immediately had two fish on. The best part was they were eating pinfish better than anything, they were also eating the cut bait very well to. We would wind up catching and releasing 14 beautiful redfish from 24 to 28 inches.

After the redfish bite died of we decide to go and try and finish everybody’s slams by getting some snook, this was going to be tough though as the water had cooled off to 69 degrees. We headed north to a bay off of Hudson, to fish a deep Mangrove edge with the incoming tide. I didn’t have enough bait to chum so we would have to send the baits down the line and see what happened like I had suspected the Snook bite was sluggish, but we did manage to get a couple of decent snook to eat but those were the only ones that would eat.

Although it was not the prettiest day, and bait was a real pain in the a**, we did catch quite a few fish, and had some very nice fish to the boat.

Till tomorrow, tight lines

Capt. Greg DeVault

Steady weekend bite.

By Fishing Reports

It was not hard to tell that today was Saturday, there were more boats on the water today, than I have seen all week combined. But some folk can only go on the weekends, so we fish when it is time to fish.

The Morning started out good, I arrived on the flat to catch bait and was the only one for 45 minutes. I started chumming and it only took a few minutes before the bait showed up, the first throw yielded 100 shiny pilchards. The next throw was about the same so I figured I would be done with bait before to long, but I was wrong. In the next 30 minutes I had 15 boats within 60 yards of me, there are sometimes I just have to shake my head at the way some people fish and find bait. All the extra attention caused the bait that was thick to dwindle down to 5 or 10 a throw, unfortunately, that wasn’t going to cut it. I had an hour before I had to meet my charter so I packed up and ran to a flat that I caught bait at this time last year. I started chumming and thankfully the bait showed up in the chum thick, a couple throws and the live well was full. I just have to wonder why other anglers cant find and look for there own bait and fish!

I met my charter at Nicks Park in New Port Richey right on time and off we went to start our day. Since the water temperature was still in the upper 60s, I decided to start at a spot that had a few Trout in it. It took a few minutes but the bite was pretty good, and several nice trout came to the boat. We were fishing a channel edge and as it got later the traffic made it so we had to move. The sun was up and hot so I figured we would give the snook a try, the tide was rolling in so they should have be eating. We got set up in a creek north of Port Richey and we could see the fish, we drifted baits down tide and the bite was lukewarm at best. But we did land 4 nice snook and a few redfish, and lost the same flounder “5” times!!

We made a few more stops and the bite was steady everywhere we went, it never got fast and furious but we did stay busy with fish all day. We had a couple of hours left so we decided to look for some Cobia, I went north toward Hudson because the flats were packed off Port Richey with boats and jet skies. After looking for a hour or so we had seen a couple of Sting rays and zero cobia, so we abandoned that plan and went to a point close by to get a few more trout. We pulled up and the mullet were working the oyster bar on the point, we put baits right in the middle of them and three trout hit immediately. The tide was going out and the bite was good for the rest of the trip.

Hopefully tomorrow the crowds will be a little lighter but it is still the weekend, ill be getting an early start so maybe I can be done with bait before the rest of the fleet gets out.

Till tomorrow, tight lines

Capt. Greg DeVault

Win some, lose some. Beautiful day… but slow fishing.

By Fishing Reports

Today was an absolutely beautiful day, a clear crisp morning with light winds and calm waters. That is where the niceties stop, without a doubt today was the toughest fishing day by far that I have had this entire spring. The worst part is I never saw it coming, we had great weather, decent tides, and very good bait, I’m just not sure what was wrong with the fish today.

I had my charter meet me before I went to catch bait today, because of the issues I had with bait yesterday. It took a little time and a couple moves yesterday to find and get it, today was a different story, I went to where I got it yesterday and after ten minutes of chumming I could see the flashing of pilchards in it. The first throw yielded 100 or so baits, after three or four throws we were on our way to catch fish.

I was very glad my charter was with me since bait was so easy, we were able to start fishing by 8am. We had a couple of hours of good incoming water, so I thought we would have a good start, but I was wrong. We ran north to an area off of New Port Richey to fish a trough that is always loaded up with fish on the low incoming. As we put down the Power Poles I could see a few snook moving around in front of us. We put baits out and I was waiting for the explosions I have been used to this spring, however, there were none. We gave it some time and I chummed the area but the snook never fired up, I decided to move us up about 100 yards to a point that had a bunch of rock on it. Finally we got a snook to hit a bait, he wasn’t a giant but a solid 26-inch fish, we had one more snook on, and caught one redfish but that was it.

I pulled up the poles and we headed south to a bayou with a bunch of docks in it off of Port Richey, once there I noticed we still had good incoming water so I was hopeful for a good bite. Again I was wrong, and again we could see fish moving around but very few takers. This would go on for three more areas and I was thoroughly confused as to why the fish were not eating. The only thing I could figure was that the water temperatures was a little cold at 65 degrees in most places, but the water was actually colder yesterday, so I didn’t think that was it. After working that area thoroughly, we decided to go and look for Cobia, we got out on the flats and started looking for the big southern Stingrays that the Cobia like to follow, and after 45 minutes of looking we had seen two rays and neither of them had a Cobia for us.

We had about an hour of time left so I decided to go to the mouth of the Cottee River in New Port Richey and unload the live well and try to get some Jack Cravelle or baby Tarpon chummed up. It was almost surreal when only one Jack Cravelle showed up in the chum, we decided then, that some days are just not your day.

I guess after all of the good days we’ve had this spring, I was due a tough one, but tomorrow will have better tides and better weather so I am still expecting a good bite as long as the weather stays nice and the bait stays easy.

Till tomorrow, tight lines

Capt. Greg DeVault

New Port Richey and Hudson Fishing Report

By Fishing Reports

Mother nature finally put her foot down on the unbelievable spring bite we have been having, but she was gentle about it. The small front that we had come through a couple days ago ushered in some cold dry air and a stiff north wind for a day. It wasn’t much of a change but it did drop our water temperature’s back to the upper 60s, and that is like pushing the brakes on a car to the fish. The good news is by the end of my trip today the water was up to the low 70s, and with a warmer night tonight we should be back on our way to another good week.

I had a pretty good idea that bait was going to be a little tougher this morning so I pushed back my charter pick up time to 9am, I really hate it when I’m right sometimes, all that meant is I would be throwing the net more than twice today. I started chumming right at daylight and after 15 minutes or so I wasn’t seeing the kind of activity I had hoped for. But after the first throw of the net there was hope, as I pulled the net over the side I had a couple dozen pilchards in it, a far cry from the 200 I was getting just a couple days ago, but something none the less. I took several throws but I was able to secure enough bait to fish for the day.

I cleaned up the boat and headed to Anclote River Park in New Port Richey to meet my charter for the day, we had an hour of incoming tide left so I decided to run north off of Hudson to maximize the water flow. We arrived at a small dead end bay with a couple docks on it that had been holding some snook, the water wasn’t moving like I had hoped but it was moving some. We put some baits up by the docks and had a fish on in no time, he wasn’t a giant but it was a snook and it broke the ice. We wound up catching a few smaller snook before the tide quit and with it the bite did to.

I ran back south to a canal off of Port Richey where a small cut had been funneling the water on the outgoing tide and holding some fish. We arrived and got set up but for some reason, we had no water movement, and for some strange reason never got any outgoing movement the rest of the day. We were able to get some Jack Cravelle to eat there but that was about it, I suggested that we go and look for Cobia on the flats and see if the tide would start moving. I pulled in to the flat and started looking and immediately spotted two large fish free swimming, we got a bait in front of them and the bigger of the two jumped all over it. The second of the two cobia was trailing the hooked fish and I was able to get a bait to him and we had a double on. Both fish pulled drag and made strong runs but the second fish managed to somehow lose the hook. We concentrated on the first and bigger fish and got it to the leader, but that is as far as we would get him, the fish twisted and flipped as Cobia do and straightened out the hook. Not the ending we wanted, but we got to pull on two big Cobia and got to see one up close and personal.

Like I said Mother Nature was gentle and she let us catch some great fish but the fight with Cobia would be the last substantial fight we would have today. But with a warm week forecasted and a new moon a few days away the upcoming week is going to be off the hook!

Till tomorrow, tight lines

Capt. Greg DeVault

Playing the conditions for great fishing.

By Fishing Reports

Today was the day we finally got a weather change, a small front is going to pass through the state tonight and ahead of it the clouds thickened and the south wind blew. The good thing is, we are on a very weak tide schedule for a few days so the 25mph south wind was welcome. The reason why is the south wind will push the water in, kind of like a extra push on the incoming tide. 

I left the dock to go get bait at 6:30am this morning, the wind was starting to pick up so I wasn’t sure if the bait would be affected. I arrived at the flat and started to chum, I could see the water was flowing out at a good pace so I was optimistic. It took about 10 minutes to start seeing the telltale flashes of the pilchards I was hoping to see. The first throw brought in 150 of the silver baits, I chummed a little more and with one more throw I was done with bait.

I had set my charter up to meet me at Anclote River Park in Tarpon Springs at 8am. We had 3 more hours of outgoing tide, but with the strong south wind I knew it wouldn’t be very strong. I decided to fish a small cut that funneled the water down to create some flow, we pulled up and set the baits in the current and immediately hooked a couple snook. Nothing big but solid fish that jumped and pulled drag, we stayed there for about a half hour and caught a few more Snook, and some Jack Cravelle. We decided to move to the channel in New Port Richey that I had been catching a bunch of trout on the low tides. As we pulled up the water was hardly moving and I wasn’t sure if we were going to get anything, I threw out a good bunch of chum and we saw a few pops. The first two baits both turned into Trout but then the bite quit, I chummed again and we caught a couple more. The chumming was working but I didn’t want to use all the bait chumming Trout, so we moved on. I had planned on doing some Cobia fishing on the low tide but with the gusty wind there was no way we could see the stingrays that the Cobia follow. So we aborted that plan and I mentioned that we could go and play with the baby Tarpon till the tide stops and turns around. The decision was a quick one and once we got set up it only took a couple of minutes to see the little guys rolling in the chum, we put out some baits and had one on within a few minutes. But just like Tarpon do he gave us a spectacular jump and threw the hook back at us. We kept seeing Tarpon roll but could only get one more bite, and he didn’t stay hooked up very long, but it was fun seeing them fly and listening to the drag.

The tide had turned and started in and we had about an hour left before we were done, so I took them to a small cove that has had some big snook in it. As we pulled in the water was moving in at a good pace, I threw a few chummers out and the snook responded, we dropped the baits back to them and the first one was inhaled by a very large snook. She made her run to the mangroves and we got her turned the first time, she launched from the water and we could see she was a substantial fish. Unfortunately, there was no stopping the second run, and she was able to reach the safety of the mangroves and win her freedom. We were able to land a smaller snook and a redfish but the bite slowed and it was time to head in.

This front is actually coming in at a good time, as it will cool our nights and help keeping the water temperature right in the mid 70s and keeping the tremendous bite we are experiencing going.

Till tomorrow, tight lines

Capt.Greg DeVault

Making adjustments on the fly leads to great fishing!

By Fishing Reports

So I decided to forgo the weekend crowds and only fish during the week, I really don’t think I could take the boat ramp follies again this week again, especially when I was part of it last week.

The day started off early with my good friend and client Mike and his brother Jim, we left the dock at 6:30 am to head to the bait flat. We arrived just as it started to crack dawn, by the time I got the chum ready and the net out it was light enough to see if the bait had stuck around through the weekend. Within 5 minutes of starting to chum, the water looked like it was raining in front of the boat there was so much bait. I loaded the net to throw and as the net hit the water it began to sparkle, as I pulled the net over the side I could barley lift it, it was so full. I made one more throw to black out the well and then we off to catch fish.

We were fishing by 7:30am, much earlier than I had anticipated. The tide was going out and would be low at 11am, so we went to fish an oyster bar off of Port Richey that always is a good spot with outgoing water. We arrived and saw plenty of mullet on the bar, we put out the baits but they seemed very sluggish, and when I looked in the live well I seen we had a bunch of bait starting to die. The outgoing water was very low in oxygen and we had to get out of there fast. I decided to go to a deep channel that I had been fishing and catching good fish in, and with the deeper water, I felt the water would be safe for the bait. We arrived at the channel and put baits out, the response was almost immediate, the trout bite was on again, and we caught probably a dozen or so before the bite died off. I made a slight adjustment in boat placement and we were able to get on a short snook bite. Jim was able to catch two very nice snook before the fish quit on us again.

The tide had slowed up so I suggested we go to a spot I had been seeing Juvenile tarpon rolling, and we had the perfect tide for them. It took us 15 minutes to get there and get setup, I threw out some chum and right on queue the silver babies started rolling. Jim made a cast close to them and the bite was almost instant, the young Tarpon immediately broke the surface and was gone just that fast. We hooked two more that would also find away to toss the hook, we were getting ready to leave for another location when one rolled. I made a cast and handed the rod to Jim, the line came tight but there was no jump. After a 5-minute fight we were able to see the silver sides of what we were looking for, Jim had his first Tarpon.

After some photos and a nice release, we now had a slack tide, so we decided to go look for Cobia. The Cobia had been thick over the weekend, but they are fish and after looking for almost 45 minutes we did not see the first one. The tide had started to flow in by now, and I suggested we go to a spot off Hudson that I had been catching good Snook at. We got set up in a trough that had good current flow through it and began to feed the baits down tide, for the next hour we caught several very nice snook. Mike definitely had the fish of the day though, after a great cast we saw the tell tale “hole in the water” that only a giant Snook can make. The battle was a tough one with both angler and fish winning some and losing some, but in the end the big girl got into a dock and the line just wouldn’t hold. Mike did get several nice fish but said he will be back for the big girl.

I know things are crazy right now, but if you are able to get on the water or get out with a guide I would do it. The fishing is on FIRE, Snook, Tarpon, Cobia, Trout, Redfish, and several others are all eating good. Bait is easy and the fishing is good!

Till tomorrow, tight line

Capt. Greg DeVault

New Port Richey Snook Fishing

By Fishing Tips

Snook fishing in New Port Richey

The coastal waters off of New Port Richey are teaming with fish, we have several species that live here year round and some that migrate in and out every spring and fall. Without a doubt one of the most sought after is the Snook, and we have them year round.

The Snook off of the Sports coast range in size from 12-inch juveniles to 40+ inch monsters, and believe it or not they live in the same areas and eat pretty much the same things. When it comes to favorite foods for snook it is hard to beat the Pilchards that inhabit our waters from March to November, however they are not the only things the snook eat. Pinfish, Mullet, Ladyfish, Shrimp, and pretty much anything smaller than they are and all are on the menu, and they are very aggressive toward most artificials that imitate small baitfish.

The coastline of Pasco County offers the Snook just about every type of cover they need, from deep canals and spring fed rivers for the cool winters to shallow Mangrove edges and deep rocky channels for the snook to ambush prey. Pasco County also has Anclote Island, a barrier island that provides a beautiful spawning area for the snook in the summer time. All of these types of structure are utilized by the snook at different times of year for different reasons.

Winter time (Nov, Dec, Jan) is a time when the snook will head into the deepest and warmest areas to survive the cold winter water, Snook must have water that maintains 60 degrees or above to survive. We have two rivers the Cottee and Anclote Rivers, both are spring fed and stay warm enough for the snook to survive, there are also plenty of deep water canals that offer the same sanctuary to the snook. The fishing for snook this time of year is good but there are better times.

Springtime is the time when the bite really turns on (Feb, March, April, May) the pilchards show up along with several other baitfish and the snook begin to move out of their winter homes and are hungry. As the water steadily warms the bite will increase until the water temps reach the upper 80s, Just about any mangrove edge or point with some current will attract the snook, they will also begin to show up on the grass flats preparing to move to the beaches of Anclote island for the summer spawn.

Summer time is a great time to catch snook on the beaches of Anclote Island, as they will move out there to spawn. There favorite food this time of year is the grunt, but they will still eat just about anything that gets in front of them. The snook will congregate on the points in the beach especially on the ends of the island where the current is the strongest. Summer time is the time of year that more 40+ inch Snook are caught than any other season.

Fall is almost as good as springtime but the Snook aren’t quite as aggressive as they are in Spring, and the whole scenario is basically Springtime in reverse, instead of coming out of the rivers and canals to feed, they are feeding to go back into the rivers and canals for the cool winter waters. The areas that we will catch them on is the same as it was in the spring, the main bait will be Pilchards.  Structure and good current flow are the main factors needed for a good bite.

New Port Richey is one of the northernmost areas on the west coast of Florida for Snook,  we have a very large and healthy population of them and the local regulations have helped keep there numbers in good shape. If you get a chance to come to our beautiful part of the state make sure you book a charter to get out and catch some Snook, you will be hooked!

Capt. Greg DeVault

West Coast Spring Slam

By Fishing Reports

Today was the day everything came together. There will be more days like today but this was the first one of this year that my clients were able to put together my version of the West coast spring slam. The slam consists of a Tarpon, Snook, Trout, Redfish, and Cobia. 

I had a feeling it was going to be a good day when I left the dock, the ramp was empty and it was slick calm. As I arrived at the bait flat I could hear bait flipping all over the place, I started chumming and it took 2 throws to fill the live wells. I met my charter at the dock in New Port Richey at 8:30 am and we eased out the river to a little cove that I saw tarpon rolling in the past few days, we still had about an hour of outgoing tide so I was hoping for a flurry on the last of the tide. I threw some chummers out and the tarpon began to roll and get active, the first bait in the water was hit instantaneously, after three very energetic jumps he was gone. It didn’t take long for the next hookup, this one stayed attached and I was able to leader the fish but he jumped off right at the boat. Technically it was a catch, we just didn’t get the photo. 

We jumped a couple more little tarpon before the tide died out and so did the bite. I decided to run south to a deep channel off of Tarpon Springs that I have been catching some nice trout out of. As we pulled in the water was already moving in so I was sure the bite would be on immediately. We put three baits in the water and it took about three seconds to hook three very nice trout. The bite stayed strong for the next 30 minutes, and every bait that hit the water was eaten very quickly, we caught several nice Trout, a couple Redfish and some jack Cravelle. As the tide filled up the channel the bite slowed, so we decided to run back north to the area that I crushed the snook at yesterday. As I was running north over the grass flats of New Port Richey I noticed several nice big Southern Stingrays swimming around, a sure sign the Cobia were near. We arrived at the bay off Hudson and the water was just starting to flow in, we gave it a few minutes to settle down and then put baits into the drift. It took a couple minutes but the bite exploded again, every bait that drifted down to the spot was hit upon arrival. We caught several snook from 25 to 32 inches, and lost a few that could not be stopped. 

We had a couple hours left to fish so I decided it was time to go check out the flat I had seen the Stingrays on. Cobia is a sight casting deal, you idle around looking for the Stingrays and the Cobia will be following. It took about five minutes to find the first one, and after several great casts, he just would not eat. I decided to leave him and look for another Ray, it took another five minutes or so to come across another one, only this time there were two Cobia on the Ray. Mason put the bait right in front of them and the bigger of the two fish peeled off and ate it, that never happens, but it did this time. We were able to land a 37-inch Cobia, Masons first.

The spring bite is in full swing and the month of April is going to be awesome, so if you have not booked your days don’t wait they will fill up fast with the great weather and fantastic bite!

Till tomorrow, tight lines

Capt. Greg DeVault