April was full of surprises. Wind, a few more cold fronts, wind, happy fish, wind, spooky fish, wind, a keys trip, wind, lots of bait, and wind. The extremely windy weather kept us tight in the creeks a little more than I'd usually like to be this time of year. Fish begin to spread out more as the water warms and a majority of snook and trout will end up on flats closer to the beaches. Speckled trout were plentiful off the beach at the end of the month. Concentrations of snook were around areas of the beach from the beginning of the month on. On nicer days or days with easterly winds, beach sitting provides ample opportunities to feed fish along our beaches. Hard bottom is hidden all over the front side of beaches. This hard bottom will hold fish even in times of the year that you wouldn't expect fish to be there. Look for color changes along the beaches and fish them with a mirrodine, paddle tail, or live pilchard. Clouser minnows and other weighted flies that get down in the water column fish well over this hard bottom. Trout seem to eat flies more regularly when they sink faster. Expect more areas to begin holding snook as the water warms.
When the wind pushes us back in the creeks, it's helpful to cover water. As most fish begin pushing out of the creeks some will stay behind while some will move out. If one creek is not holding fish, move on and fish other water. One way to find fish is to cover water and scout areas at low tide. This keeps most fish from sitting under the mangroves where they are harder to see. Target them with a soft landing artificial or fly on the low water times and come back to fish the same areas with a quick moving baitfish presentation on high water.
While the wind wasn't extremely cooperative, fishing was excellent all month. opportunities for bait, artificial, and fly anglers are all plentiful in the right areas.
As the water continues to warm, expect our beaches to fill up with Snook, Speckled Trout, Black Drum, Red Drum, and Tarpon. Tarpon are a ton of fun to hook, fight, and land and I'll be spending most of my summer aiming to do just that with my anglers.
If you'd like to book a trip to chase the one and only Silver King, give me a shout! I have some availability left in May and a good amount in the middle of June.
Book your Tarpon Trip Here!
