Hey, water temps are starting off in the low 80s early in the mornings and the moon has not been up all night, so we have been heading out around 5am to take on some nice trout and snook on top-water. And yes, we have been catching fish. As a matter of fact, on some mornings the chop has come up around 10 am and kept the top-water action going on through 11 am. We have been catching mostly trout, but there have been some nice snook and a few reds mixed in for good measure. We have been targeting very shallow bars that have grass and bait associated with them, and there has been a ton of glass minnows around lately as well as pins, pigs, mullet, greenies, etc. The "top" producing plugs have been the Yo-Zuri Banana boat in the red and white pattern, the hydo-popper in gold and black, and the hydro pencil in gold and black. Producing right up there with the top water plugs have been the shallow divers including the 3D Fingerling and the Jerk-O. Soft plastics and jigs have been catching their fair share, so if you do not like plugs try a Rip-Tide Brand Flats Chub in the new penny color ripped through the grass or long a drop-off. We also have been encountering some nice snapper, no nothing near 5 lbs. or anything like that, but fish big enough to keep if you are so included. These fish have been hitting the same lures as everything else. The fish have been dropping off the very shallow bars by 9 am and lurking in the deeper 3-5 ft areas. These fish have been willing to eat through about noon and then the action seems to drop off considerably. We have been fishing all our lures pretty aggressively with the rip and stop type action I mention all the time. On the surface the we have been varying the pace from fast to slow depending on fish reaction and the amount of bait present, so mix it up to get the most strikes.
Until next time, Tight-Lines to all.
Sincerely,
Capt. Ron Bielefeld