If you enjoy flying kites as a hobby then the month of April has been quite the thrill for you with the El Niño pattern and the high winds we are experiencing here in Southwest Florida. It’s been tough to find a day where the weather is just right but despite the chop and wind we are still having a great spring on the water. Snook are abundant and we’ve been finding slot fish in alot of areas (that’s our fish between 28 and 33 inches). Mostly focusing on Mangrove islands with good moving water and overhangs where those snook can hide out to ambush bait is the ticket. Trout have been across the flats and ledges off grass flats around some of the channels. Our bigger over-slot gator trout are still hanging around closer to mangroves in a lot of cases but also tight to oyster bars and abundant grass flats. We’ve had a lot of fun with some great size redfish as well, those reds we were catching back in December that all were around 17 inches are now grown to low 20’s and they’ve got a little more fight in them. Bars and islands with good moving water and structure is where you’ll find redfish and it never hurts to have some cut bait on hand for these fish, they can’t resist it. White bait is getting better and better every day and the struggle to fill the bait well is getting easier in the mornings with fewer net throws. It is imperative to catch plenty of bait in the mornings to have enough to chum with throughout the day. It helps to see where your target fish are when they feed on some of that chum thrown into the spot. It’s been a great spring thus far and will only get better with the exit of El Niño and calmer days.

If you enjoy flying kites as a hobby then the month of April has been quite the thrill for you with the El Niño pattern and the high winds we are experiencing here in Southwest Florida. It’s been tough to find a day where the weather is just right but despite the chop and wind we are still having a great spring on the water. Snook are abundant and we’ve been finding slot fish in alot of areas (that’s our fish between 28 and 33 inches). Mostly focusing on Mangrove islands with good moving water and overhangs where those snook can hide out to ambush bait is the ticket. Trout have been across the flats and ledges off grass flats around some of the channels. Our bigger over-slot gator trout are still hanging around closer to mangroves in a lot of cases but also tight to oyster bars and abundant grass flats. We’ve had a lot of fun with some great size redfish as well, those reds we were catching back in December that all were around 17 inches are now grown to low 20’s and they’ve got a little more fight in them. Bars and islands with good moving water and structure is where you’ll find redfish and it never hurts to have some cut bait on hand for these fish, they can’t resist it. White bait is getting better and better every day and the struggle to fill the bait well is getting easier in the mornings with fewer net throws. It is imperative to catch plenty of bait in the mornings to have enough to chum with throughout the day. It helps to see where your target fish are when they feed on some of that chum thrown into the spot. It’s been a great spring thus far and will only get better with the exit of El Niño and calmer days.

The spring bite is on fire here in Southwest Florida! Bait has arrived and is just about anywhere you look, the trout are big and in the middle of their spring spawn, redfish and snook are present all over the mangrove islands as well as some juvenile tarpon and the weather is great most days. As stated the trout are large and in charge, most of the trout we are finding are over slot, big females that are very obviously carrying eggs. Most trout range around 19-23 inches but we have been fortunate enough to catch a few in the high 20’s. We have had some really great fights with juvenile tarpon lately in some of the common spots in the backcountry. They put on a great acrobatic show with huge jumps and strong runs pulling drag along the way. Snook and reds are out and hungry, throwing bait fish chum around the mangrove lines will usually make for a great show as they begin chasing, popping and inhaling the greenbacks fluttering through the water. The fishing is heating up and lines are tight every day from start to finish.