It is April in Florida and that means spring is here, the annual bait run is about to begin, and the fish feeding activity is moving into overdrive. As water temperatures warm inshore and along the coast the bait migration will move up the coastline...and taking full advantage of it will be hungry fish moving with increased energy levels. For April, redfish, speckled trout and black drum will dominate the inshore scene; while opportunities for cobia and sharks out in the ocean off the beaches will elevate by month end. Sight fishing opportunities are superb with speckled trout shadowing mullet pods and big schools of redfish and black drum in the backwater creeks, oyster bars, and grass flats. Opportunities are abundant for fly and light tackle lure anglers, while live bait fishing action continues to pick up the pace as the spring bait run nears.
Redfish are a monthly staple and the fishing in Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River lately has been outstanding. The grass flats in the Lagoons are loaded with big schools of 100-300 redfish shadowing bait pods and digging shrimp out of the grass. In the tidal creeks around Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna, Edgewater redfish are cruising mangrove shorelines and the edges of the oyster bars. At Ponce Inlet redfish have been active near the jetty's on the outgoing tide. Since water temperatures have warmed up into the 70's, redfish have been far more active and aggressive. My light tackle lure anglers have been catching numerous fish on a daily basis using weedless soft plastic jerkbaits, mirrolure's (mirrodines), swimbaits, and DOA shrimp and CAL's. My fly anglers have been connecting on seaducers, spoon flies, my shrimp fly, and borski sliders. A huge recent shrimp hatch on the recent full moon has put live shrimp at the top of the preferred food choice and this will likely repeat again on the late April full moon. Otherwise, more and more mullet have returned to the inshore waters and a free-lined live or cut mullet will entice wary fish. Action is picking up in both Lagoons for GIANT trophy sized from 20-40lb. Schools are growing in size each week and some have over 100 fish in the 40-50" range. A dose of good weather makes these bronze bruisers easy to target and the reward for patience and good cast placement can be the redfish of a lifetime.
It is spring which means prime time for Speckled Trout fishing on the Space Coast. While there is increasing trout action around the docks in New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater, this is the best time of the year to target big gator trout on the flats in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon. The key is finding flats with active mullet, find finnicky baitfish and rest assure the trout are there and eating. We've caught numerous trout over 20" lately, with several 5-7lber's, throwing mirrorlure suspending plugs, swimbaits, and soft plastic jerkbaits on jigheads. Fly anglers will connect on seaducers, deceivers, and clouser minnows among the mullet and muddied water. Speckled trout action will continue to get better and better as the water temps stay consistently above 70 and the spring bait run begins to take hold.
Juvenile Tarpon are starting to get a little more active as we enter the spring. Right now it is smaller fish in the 5-10lb range showing themselves with brief rolling in remote backwaters. Later this month the bigger 20-40lb juveniles will start to show around the ICW and provide brief window's where they will bite a well placed jig on the bottom. There are loads and loads of Black Drum in both Lagoons on the flats. They are fun for a change of pace or to do something different. Live shrimp or crabs, DOA shrimp, or a well placed crab fly will do the trick. Snook action around the docks and bridges in New Smyrna and Edgewater will get going later this month as the water temperatures push up near 70 degrees.
Only a few dates remaining for April, and 1/2 of May is already booked. Call or email now to reserve/book a date. Short notice trips are accepted if I have the date open. I look forward to fishing with you soon…386-212-4931.