April showers and breezy conditions have put a damper on coastal fishing this past week. And if the weather-guessers get it half right, it looks like rain gear will be handy this upcoming weekend, too.
When weather does allow, the bite has been good, with a lot of variety. Trout have been cooperative on a variety of lures, including topwater plugs, soft-plastic touts and shrimp, plus suspending lures. Moving water is best, with no discernible difference between incoming and outgoing. Fish pot holes and rock grass on the flats, oyster bars and creek mouths for quality specs. Natural patterns are still tops, but good reports of larger fish on electric chicken jigs were also shared. If anyone knows a bait fish or crustacean that is actually colored electric chicken, please let me know.
Redfish are scattered still, but certainly willing to eat Aqua Dream spoons in gold and chartreuse. The 3/8-ounce version makes for a bigger profile now with the warmer water and wobbles enticingly. Buggs bucktail jigs are another good option for reds, along with DOA shrimp. When the reds are hungry, a noisy Rapala Skitter Walk or MIrrOlure Top Dog will seldom be refused, although it may take several tries for a hook-up.
For anglers who prefer to use live or natural baits, there’s no shortage of variety right now. Live shrimp on a jig head under a popping or clacker cork will take just about every game fish swimming in the briny. Mud minnows, finger mullet, sardines and pilchards are also readily available. Split pinfish tails or “shiner” tails are deadly under a cork, while sand fleas will get the attention of any passing pompano.
Cobia, Spanish mackerel and tripletail are around in good numbers. The mid-week cold snap might force a quick detour to deeper water, but they’ll be back in quick order. Sharks are more frequent in the shallows, along with marauding packs of big, strong jack crevalle. Those bruisers are a blast, but be prepared with lots of line capacity on the reel or be ready to give chase by boat.
The in-between moon phase won’t offer a whole lot of water movement this weekend, but enough for steady action. Low tides will drop out before daylight, with the flood tides peaking shortly after lunch with 2.5 feet of incoming flow. The solunar predictions call for a high activity window the last two hours of the incoming tides as the moon comes up.
Please maintain social distancing and don’t overload boats with multiple passengers. Wakulla is the last county in the region with open ramps, so practice common sense and courtesy so access to the coastal waters continues.
Copyright 2020, Capt. Dave Lear. All rights reserved.