Good day to everyone. The weather is starting to finally get right; we are having more warm days than cooler ones. The forecast has warmer days for the rest of the week. Wind wise a little better everyday, we've finally started to get out on the ocean and start looking for those Bonita's. Let's talk about that.
Those high speed Bonita's should show up any day now; there has already been a small push of Spanish in the last few days. I think this is a push of fish and warm water; these fish will probably move out of here. The Bluefish are mixed in with them too. We're catching them by trolling and casting. The trolling rigs that we're using are; a number one planner with thirty to forty feet of forty pound mono leader. Tied to the leader is a Clark spoon in size's 0, 1 and 2, I like to use the gold and pink flash Clark spoons. Troll them about five to six knots. You can also troll small deep diving plugs too, but you need to slow down your speed to around three knots.
If you would like to try casting or jigging for the Bonita's, Blues and Spanish I would use Maria jigs. They do have a price tag on them, but when the bite is tough these jigs will pay off! Maria's that I have the best luck with are size's seven and fourteen grams. The fourteens are easier to cast. Colors to use; green, blue and pink seem to work the best for me. I put a small shot of forty pound mono leader 12 to14 inches.
There has been a very good Black drum bite the last two weeks, most days I'm catching 14+ plus on a half day. Most of the drum are biting around docks and creek mouths in the ICW. The best bait "by far" has been fresh cut shrimp in small pieces. We are using small two hook drop rig, with a number 2 bait holder hook and one or two oz bank sinkers.
The Speckled trout have decided to bite from time to time the last few weeks. Most fish are coming out of creeks, flats and channels around the waterway and inlets. Best bet for the trout so far has been grubs, working the grubs slow in holes and drop-offs. The grubs I like in the spring mouths are Saltwater Assassin sea shad in 4". Colors silver mullet, chart diamond, Chicken on a chain and salt/pep shad. I like to use shrimp (Bang) scent in the spring too, this helps because there is not much bait in the water yet. I don't use a lot of scents for Trout, but in the cool spring mouths it can really help.
Gear used: Reels Penn Sargus SG2000 and SG4000 Rods: Ugly Stick Lite 7'0" Med light and Med act. Line: Fire Line crystal in 10 and 20 pound test.
Thanks for taking the time to read this report, get out there and go fishing!
Capt. Jot Owens
Ranger Boats and
Pure Fishing Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139