By Jimmy Tomazinis
mail@floridanewsline.com
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the wonderful weather we’ve been having. I might break a record for days fished in shorts this year since we got such an early warm up. It’s going to be really interesting to see how that affects the fishing the rest of the year.
As for right now the redfish have piled into the river in great numbers, but size might be a little on the small side. They’ll grow and larger ones will show up more each day. If you want to throw artificials for them try a rattle trap or your favorite soft plastic jigs. Dark colors with a chartreuse highlight work well. Crab, mullet, and dead shrimp will have you covered on the natural bait side of things.
Stripers are biting around the bridges on fresh dead shrimp. You might also find them around bait schools on calm days. Keep an eye out for birds. They were one of the most consistent bites last year, so we’ll see what happens this year.
Sheepshead will be showing up after their exploits near the inlet and offshore. While most people think of sheepshead being a wintertime thing, here our sheepshead fishing in the river is best April – November and pretty much nonexistent outside of those months. April can be exceptional since the fish can be very hungry after spawning. I caught my biggest sheepshead to date in April which weighed 12 lbs. Fiddlers, clams, and blue crab will entice most of them. You can also catch some giant bream at the same time.
Whiting and pompano are in the surf if you need more of a reason to enjoy a nice day at the beach. Just remember to find the most favorable conditions before staking your claim on the sand. Water clarity is the biggest thing I look for because you can’t necessarily walk down the beach to find cleaner water but you can usually hit multiple troughs and bars in one stretch of beach after you find clear water there. Keep moving until you find fish or roll the dice on them finding you.
My gut tells me we’re in for some good fishing since everything got an early start, but I’m hoping that doesn’t mean we’re in for an early end to our warm fishing season. Time will tell, but I’m excited to see where it goes either way. Be safe out there and until next time, tight lines.
