By Jimmy Tomazinis
mail@floridanewsline.com
March is here. Our super hot February might have us a little ahead this year so far. I was seeing water temperatures around 70 degrees in certain places pretty early last month, so lots of spawning has already been occurring on the bass and speck side of things. They’ll still be at it this month, but I suspect it will be tapering off by the end of it. Post-spawn fish will be hungry and looking to put some weight back on near the same areas they had been staging prior to moving into shallows. The same baits I mentioned last month will still be good bets: jigs, minnows, and shiners. Flipping soft plastics into heavy cover will also be good for bass or bowfin, which I think are tons of fun. Just watch out for those teeth.
The river will see more and more saltwater fish trickling in this month. Redfish usually show up first followed by sheepshead, trout, and flounder. The redfish will be on the smaller side, so try to use mini portions of their usual fare. If you still have any minnows left from speck fishing, those work pretty well. You can tip a jig with them or fish them under the same floats you use for specks. I mainly focus on docks. Try to put the baits right behind the pilings in the eddies. A piece of crab might entice the bigger redfish as they show up.
Sheepshead will be moving up river after spawning at the inlet and offshore. Use fiddler crabs, clams, and shrimp around the most barnacle encrusted structure you can find. I don’t say this enough, but if there’s no current where you’re fishing — go find some.
Speaking of shrimp, this is our last chance to throw a shrimp net as the season closes for April and May. I usually have pretty good luck catching enough for bait this month, sometimes more than I catch in June, surprisingly. These will be the best shrimp you can get for any of the saltwater species showing up.
If you’re a trout snob it’s going to be very dependent on how fast the salinity goes up. Last spring they really keyed in on smaller baits since there were so many anchovies around. Small jigs or twitch baits are good. Tight lines.
