HILLSBOROUGH RIVER: Catfish are still in the news, with great numbers still being taken. There is nothing better than a fresh fried catfish dinner. Specks are also being taken in the Hillsborough River and the Tampa By-Pass Canal. Fish for specks under heavy weed cover around the bridges.

KISSIMMEE CHAIN: Hot times on the water. Great bass and speckled perch catches were had by all. Live shiners are taking good numbers of bass. Specks are large slabs, with the smaller fish being returned to the water.

LORIDA-ISTOKPOGA: There have been good catches during the weather break. Bass were caught in the 4- to 6-pound range, and there have been a lot of speckled perch catches reported. Next week might not be as good unless the weather improves.

LAKE OKEECHOBEE:   Catfish is the word. A lot of bass and specks are being caught as well, but this is catfish heaven.

LAKE PANASOFFKEE: There have been great speck and bass catches during the warmer weather, with some limits on specks and a lot of bass.

Saltwater

Anglers who went fishing during the weather lull did well, mostly on trout and redfish.

10,000 ISLANDS: The flats were great for trout fishing. Cobia are around the buoys in deeper water. On calm days, some of the best trout fishing is on the lower West Coast flats. Snook are out of season.

SARASOTA: Little Sarasota Bay is still producing great catches of trout and ladyfish, with the trout mostly over 20 inches.

RUSKIN: Trout were the only game in town. It seems the sheepshead went deeper, most likely to spawn. The power plants are still good for sharks, cobia or jack crevalle.

WESTERN SHORE AND SKYWAY AREA: Trout and a few sheepshead were the best catches this week. During the warm weather, trout were an easy catch.

SOUTH PINELLAS: trout were the best catch of the day. However, they are running large, usually over keeper size. During the warm spell, you could also find a few redfish.

FISHING PIERS: offers most of the current species being caught in the bay. Fish for mangrove snapper, redfish, flounder and even a stray grouper.

MID-PINELLAS PARTY BOATS: Grouper are out of season in February. Go offshore for a deep-sea-fishing extravaganza. Fish deeper water for mangrove snapper and gray snapper. You might also catch porgies and amberjack (catch-and-release) on longer trips. The extended and overnight trips will produce the best catches.

GANDY BAIT & TACKLE: the upper bay is producing some whiting and a few redfish and trout.

CLEARWATER to DUNEDIN: When the winds subside this weekend, you should have good trout and some redfish catches to brag about. The big trout were almost everywhere and should be back on the flats soon. Fish the shallow waters in the heat of the day.

TARPON SPRINGS Redfish appeared in many places during the warm spell. Trout were running more than 20 inches in most cases. Some jacks and reds were around the power plant.

KEATON BEACH (Perry): Only a few trout were lucky enough to find our bait this week. However, the black sea bass and grunt were biting offshore in 40 to 49 feet of water.

HERNANDO BEACH: Warm breezes meant great catches offshore. You can catch a lot of keeper mangrove snapper, black sea bass and grunt to take home. Grouper catches were good, with plenty of fish to catch and release. This will end in a few days.

FLY FISHING: Trout were fantastic. The trout were schooled on the flats and were very large, most longer than 20 inches. Just blind cast the flats and you can’t miss.  

Tampa Bay Area

The weather has finally straightened itself out and fishing is heating up 
and getting back to normal. Just as expected, as soon as bait fish showed 
up along our beaches the Spanish mackerel and kingfish were right behind 
them. 
 
Fishing for both mackerels has been very productive the past two weeks and 
the action will only increase. Trolling �hardware� including spoons and 
plugs behind diving planers has been successful but live bait has generally 
outperformed the artificial offerings providing non-stop bites. 
 
Other species crashing the Kingfish and and Spanish party have included 
cobia and barracuda along with one lone flounder that found a bait that 
made it to the bottom. Having a variety of rigs combined with an 
assortment of baits will lead to mixed bag catches right now. 

St Petersburg Fishing Report

The snook bite has turned on pretty good due to the water temperature getting into the upper 70's and the appearance of some whitebait on the flats in the mid bay areas. Moving water is definately the key to agood bite I prefer the outgoing but the incoming will still produce especially if you set up in an area that has good current flow near structure or the mangroves. I am still getting a few snook on shrimp but the good bite is on the whitebait. The number of snook that I have been seeing is pleasantly getting pretty good compared to awhile ago when we were not sure how bad the damage was going to be from that harsh winter. 
 
   Redfish are still a hot item from Fort DeSoto up to the 4th street area near Gandy Bridge in their haunts. Look for the reds to be mixed in with the schools of larger mullet. Try to use your trolling motor on low once you get close to the area that you are seeing the reds or are approaching a promising looking oyster bar or mullet school. If you spot a school of reds try not to cast into the middle but work the outside edges of the school. this will help not to spook them or let your line run across their backs. Shrimp, cut bait (pinfish,mullet,ladyfish etc.) and whitebait are all getting the job done. The fish are ranging from 17-35 inches and some schools are mixed sizes but others all seem to hold the same size throughout that school. 

LOWER TAMPA BAY

I am still waiting for that first calm day to do some cobia hunting, but the winds of April were much like those of March. Thus far May is nothing to write home about either in terms of wind. However, I did finally find some redfish. I fished mid day Saturday with buddy Keli Emery and the wind kept us in the backcountry of Little Cockroach Bay. Water clarity wasn�t very good, and the wind was howling so we started fishing some cut ladyfish in the first passes south of Sand Key. We didn�t get so much as a peck, but we did see some pinfish so I opened a can of jack mackerel and threw the net. The bait was nothing to rave about, but after 10 throws we had two dozen half dollar sized pinfish. I still have yet to see a school of pilchards in shallow water, and it�s getting late in the season for that. Anyway, we had a frozen ladyfish and some pins so we hit the shadowline between Sand Key and Mag�s Hole. The first couple of stops didn�t produce a strike, but in on hole I did see a dozen or so very big snook as they passed by.

 
   The third stop proved to be the charm. Keli Emery pitched the right sized pinfish on a jig hook into a hole and soon as it hit the water she hooked up. Ten minutes later, I netted a redfish just shy of 27 inches and threw it in the cooler. Before I could bait my hook and get a line in the water after putting the camera away, Keli was hooked up again. This one was only 22 inches, but still a good fish. The bite screeched to a halt after that, and it got very hot, so we headed back to the dock.

 
   Spring is apparently over already and the heat is upon us. Some good things should happen before mid day fishing becomes unbearable. The tarpon are already here, and so are the cobia. All we need is a couple of calm days to clear the water and let us get at them. As for pilchards, I�m not hearing anything outside of the Sunshine Skyway.

MANATEE COUNTY

Angling action has busted loose all across the board in the past week. The hardest decision to make each morning is what species to target for that day. Bait is plentiful , easy to get most days, and there is a really good range of sizes and species.

 
The wind relaxed most of the week, for once, and fishing on the nearshore reefs and beaches has been an option each day. My clients enjoyed top notch action with kingfish,spanish mackerel, cobia,pompano, along with a variety of hard bottom critters.

 
On the inshore scene there has been excellent results with spotted sea trout,flounder, and even more mackerel and pompano. Redfish have been plentiful in the area and are beginning to show signs of settling down and feeding. A handful of snook have been boated and released. They are starting to show up on the flats more and more but their pattern is still well behind what it should be at this date.I feel the FWC made the right decision to close down spring snooking this year and I encourage anglers to leave them be as much as possible during the spawn this year.

 
Here's hoping that the slightly cooler water temperatures for mid-April will extend this banner spring action long into May. 

Skyway Fishing Piers

The bait is back. You will find that they are deep and a bit diffucult to net, but you can catch them on a sabiki quite easily. Or use a little bit of chum to draw the bait to the top and get them fast! 
 
   The mackerel have been back for about a month now. We have been super busy, with some days anglers are producing the limit of 15 in a short time, and having a great time doing so. The best tackle for macks range from gold or silver spoons, got-cha plugs, clark spoons, or pompano jigs with a teaser. When they're hungry they will eat, and their teeth are razor sharp, so use some fluorocarbon or heavy mono for a leader. I'd avoid using a steel leader on the spanish mackerel. If you prefer live bait, a fresh dead scaled greenback cut into thirds is a great bait to attract mackerel. The special yumminess that leaks from the freshly cut bait is irresistable for the fast moving mackerel. They must be 12" to the fork, and you are allowed 15 per person.  
 
   Some kings have been landed, but not in great numbers. We're hoping to get a little more action this spring. 
 
   Saturday a young pier rat named "Bones" fought a Goliath on the North Pier. He first thought it was a Bull Shark, but was surprised to see the massive Grouper. He had quite an audience to witness the sight. I jokingly suggested he dive in to unhook the fish, but he was afraid it would eat him! It was massive, they guessed at about 250 lbs or more. 
 
   Gag Grouper are always plentiful around the piers, and legal to keep now, as long as they are 22". A popular technique for catching grouper from the pier is hooking a pin fish or a large bait fish near the tail and letting it swim out to the rubble on an outgoing tide. It's smart to look at the high tide point and start fishing right after that.  
 
   You may also target pompano, snapper, speckled trout in the flats, or even get lucky and get a cobia. 
 
   Please remember to be conservation minded. Don't keep too many fish and know the rules and regulations before you get started. Keep a lawstick or ruler with you to make sure you take an accurate measurement. You can find the rules at www.myfwc.com.  
 
   The piers are open 24/7 with bait shops on both piers. The cost to get in is $4 per vehicle, plus $4 per person. Kids 6-12 are $2 per person. You don't need a fishing license to fish on the Skyway Piers. We rent rods for $8 per day. It's like tail-gating and fishing at the same time! If you need advice on how to get started, it's a good idea to come into the bait shops on the week days when it's quieter and get to know our friendly bait shop crew. They are all full of great tips and stories about the one that got away. 

Southwest Florida

After watching for several days the weather forecasters dance all over 
what was going to happen on Monday, the picture began to gain clarity by 
Saturday, and I contacted my old buddy Jim Turman to confirm moving our 
trip from Monday to Sunday. It was obvious it was going to blow Saturday, 
Sunday, and Monday, as well as storm on Monday. Sunday would bring south 
winds, and if I'm going to fish in a big wind, I want it to be south. At 
least then, most of the time the fish will eat well. 
 
   I was very early, and watched a number of boats go out under the causeway 
straight into the already stiff south wind, and turn around and come back. 
One was an F-20 Talon that I hadn't seen before. I was shocked that he 
turned around, given the reputation the F-20 has for eating up rough 
water. I watched a couple go for it, and all I could see in the early 
dawn light was the white of big spray coming off the hulls. It was nasty 
out there. I pondered what I would do as I waited on Jim, who was 
bringing his friend Ed for his very first fishing experience. 
 
   I'd been down to Jim's condo and spent the night on Thursday, and spent 
the evening with Jim and his good friends Retta, who used to be Jim's big 
rig co-driver, and her husband Ed. They're all down from Iowa. Jim and I 
have been fishing together for years, and he's a blast. Ed had agreed to 
come on this trip, and had absolutely no previous fishing experience. I 
knew he'd do well. 
 
   With Jim and Ed aboard we headed out to the bridge to see just how bad it 
was. I pointed the Talon into the wind and idled under the bridge. It 
was pretty nasty, but I knew I could get out a safe distance from the 
bridge, turn to the west and launch, and then slip and slide on the 
rollers to the B span. Once inside the B span, it would be relatively 
calm. And, that's what we did. Jim, unfortunately, was on the windward 
side, and got a bit wet, but it's impossible to keep the person on the 
windward side dry in slop like that, no matter what you're in. We made 
our way to Tarpon Bay flats, where we found probably a dozen boat working 
on catching bait. As luck would have it, the boat closest to the spot I 
like to anchor on was the Talon F-20. 
 
   We went to work. I chummed long enough to see what the wind/water combo 
were doing, and the chum flow was from right to left across our bow, 
coming at us. Jim took over the chumming, and after no more than ten 
minutes, I threw the 8 ft. Daddy Pat net, and pulled in a load. By the 
time I got that put into the well, there was bait flicking all over in 
front of us. 
 
   I got out the 10 ft. net Daddy Pat had recently made for me, and gave it a 
toss. With that bait in the well, I could have, and probably should have 
left. But, I figured I'd throw one more time just to top off the tanks. 
Holy cow. Jim had that bait in there and going crazy, and I could hardly 
get the net pulled over the gunwale! We had enough bait for a week of 
fishing! 
 
   Jim had given me as our primary mission, to put plenty, or as much fish in 
the boat for eating, as possible. Right now, that means speckled trout, 
and hopefully a redfish per angler to top things off. So, our first stop 
with a trout spot that gave us the opportunity to have the wind at our 
backs and current in our face, which means a proper presentation of our 
live baits. 
 
   Once there and at our first stop on the long edge, we were immediately in 
action, but it was ladyfish action. We caught a few and put two or three 
into the well for possible use as redfish bait later. I moved us up about 
the length of a long cast and anchored. As if we'd crossed over some 
line, we were now in small jacks. Even 10 to 12 inch jacks are a blast, 
and pull like freight trains, as Ed soon found out. But, we were looking 
for trout. 
 
   I moved us up again, and now we were getting cut off by mackerel! Then 
there were more jack and ladyfish. I moved up one more time declaring 
that if we didn't hit the trout I was certain were there, we would move 
on. And, wah-lah. We started catching trout. I quickly lost track of 
how many trout we had in the well, but I though it was six. We'd caught 
plenty of shorts, too. We decided to move on to another spot that usually 
has outsized trout this time of year. 
 
   The water in that spot was just blowing in, aided by the strong south 
wind. I had a hard time trying to get the boat situated how I wanted it. 
Finally, I decided to just use the trolling motor to try to hold position. 
That worked OK until Jim hooked a monster jack crevalle. What a battle! 
Jim said he wouldn't want to do too much of that. Shortly afterward, I 
hooked in to a monster that also turned out to be an even bigger jack of 
nearly 9 pounds. I haven't seen many big jacks around at all in the last 
couple of years, and forgot how tough they are. Once we had him landed, I 
suggested we move on before we hooked into another one. Of course, the 
real reason was that we had established the big trout weren't there, and 
the big jacks were. We wanted more fish for the cooler. 
 
  It was around ten o'clock, and I couldn't believe how quickly the wind had 
driven the water way up. I told Jim it was time to go redfish/snook 
fishing. But, for the next hour or so we didn't have the first redfish or 
snook bite. Ed managed to snag a ballyhoo reeling in, and we put that 
straight out there for redfish. But, Ed instead caught a beautiful five 
pound trout. Hmmm. We were doing pretty well at filling our food order. 
But, I couldn't believe that we fished about five spots only catching that 
big trout. 
 
   We made another move to an area I love to fish for reds, but had not 
fished in a long time. It was fast approaching noon and the witching hour 
for the tide. We fished several spots in the area with not so much as a 
bump, but did have some bait scaled by snook. I made one more move to 
slightly deeper water. I again put out a ballyhoo, a ladyfish steak, and 
a live shiner. At this point the wind was really building, and it was 
very difficult to fish. What happens is that the wind and the action of 
the water tend to pull all the lines toward straight down the wind, and 
tangle them up. And, we had some of that, for sure. 
 
   But, we hung in there and it wasn't long before Ed casually said, ìI think 
I've got something!î Those words were quickly followed by the sound of a 
happy Stella 3000 screaming in redfish ecstasy. I could see the fish 
boiling and smacking its tail in the shallow water, and knew we had our 
first redfish of the day. It was a beauty, and we measured it half dozen 
times, holding it different ways, to make sure it wasn't over 27 inches. 
It was right there, and went into the well. 
 
   Not long after that, Jim had another redfish on, both so far on the live 
shiners, and boated a beautiful keeper of 25 inches. Oh, if we could just 
get one more, so I could have some, too. Redfish is my favorite fish to 
catch, and eat, from our waters. After a short time, I witnessed a huge 
blow on top of the water, right where Jim's shiner was. Holy cow. It 
looked like someone had dropped a concrete block in the water from a 
hundred feet up. But, it missed the bait. I quickly re-baited Jim's rig, 
and he tossed it right back to the spot. One thousand one, one thousand 
two, one thousand three. Boom! Fish on, and it was the fish of the day. 
It gave Jim a workout, but ultimately he brought her to the boat and the 
Boga Grip. She was 9 pounds and just shy of 30 inches. She had to go 
back. But, Jim had gotten his final workout of the day, and great 
pictures. We decided it was time to leave on a high note, and try to get 
in before the wind kicked any more. It had been building all morning, and 
was well into the 20's. 
 
   It wasn't a bad ride home at all. I stayed as close to the manatee buoys 
as possible, and stayed out of the worst of the rough stuff. Then I took 
the inside route from B span to A span, which kept us out of the rough 
stuff. The ride across the mouth of the river was a piece of cake. 
 
   We had lots of fish to clean. The boys let me keep a redfish fillet, a 
trout for me, and a trout for my yard man. They still had a bag of fish 
that went about 8 pounds. It hadn't been an easy day, but it was a fun a 
productive day with one of my favorite fishing buddies. And, in typical 
fashion, Ed had done great, as he brought no bad habits from back home to 
the boat. 
 
   Tuesday morning, I woke up around 2 AM! Strangely, my HP dv8t quad beast 
that lives on a cart next to my bed, awoke a couple of minutes after I 
did, without me getting near it. Spooky. Maybe it was peeking at me 
through the web cam! Firefox was still on the screen where I'd left it, 
and I was treated to a large mass of red and orange on the NWS radar loop. 
It was at around Punta Gorda. I figured it would be on us within a couple 
of hours. I tried my best to go back to sleep, but I love a good thunder 
boomer, and it wasn't long before I could see lightning lighting the 
clouds from a distance, and hear the faint rumble of thunder. I was glad 
I'd run my trip with Jim and Ed, Sunday. 
 
   By 5 AM it was close, and beginning to rain. By 6 AM it was storming so 
hard, with constant lightning and thunder, and horizontal sheet rain, it 
seemed it might be the end of the world as we know it. Man, what a storm. 
I got up, got dressed, and drove down to the ramp with a Bubba Keg full of 
coffee. I was almost amazed there was no one there. There's almost 
always some crazy out in stuff like that! None of the guides had bothered 
to even show up. I sat there for over an hour just enjoying one of the 
biggest electrical storms I've seen in years. I thanked God I wasn't 
caught out in it. I've been caught in four or five severe storms like 
that, and it's one of the scariest things that can happen to you. You get 
the overwhelming feeling that you are certainly going to die. The weather 
finally began to break around 9 AM. 
 
   Monday night I talked to Tom Sutton, my customer for Tuesday. I had been 
watching the weather forecast for Tuesday with obvious great interest, 
fully expecting to see a big wind forecast after such a front. It's 
pretty much an automatic thing......A rule of nature. But, the forecast 
continued to be for west breeze 8 to 11. I knew instinctively it was BS. 
I told Tom I fully expected to wake up to a very different forecast, but 
the weather guys just weren't ready to give it up, yet. I told him I'd 
call him if there were any revisions. Otherwise, I'd meet him at 7 AM. 
 
   Tom and I have already canceled and rescheduled several times this year 
because of all the bad weather. He is a hoot to talk to, and I know we're 
going to have a good time out there together, but when I told him of the 
revised forecast, he was all for rescheduling again. We had a lake 
advisory, which calls for winds 20 to 30 MPH. Not a good day to be out in 
a flats boat. I really want to meet this guy! Guess it will wait until 
late May. 
 
   The forecast for Wednesday was breezy, but much improved from Tuesday, for 
Warren Beachy and me. Warren and I had also rescheduled his trip a couple 
of times trying to find a descent day before he headed back to Alaska. 
Looked like we'd finally get a shot. I was pretty sure the catching was 
going to be tough, as we were on the second day behind the front, and 
right on top of the full moon. But, Warren told me he didn't much care if 
we caught anything! He just wanted to learn about our fishing. 
 
Somehow, Warren managed to sneak by me while I was in the van trying to 
stay away from the mosquitoes. I noticed someone standing down on the 
dock in the general vicinity of my boat while talking to Steve Waugh, and 
thought, ìOh, no! That's probably him!î It was. It was also great to 
finally meet Warren. 
 
We headed right over to Tarpon Bay where bait had been so good Sunday, 
expecting to quickly dispense with bait catching. The rest of the fleet 
was still there working. There was quite a bit of boat jockeying going 
on, which told me the bait wasn't coming in well. And, once we went to 
work chumming and throwing, we proved that to be true. Bait was tough. 
It took a good twenty throws to load the well. 
 
   Warren did say he'd like to try to have a fish or two for dinner. I 
wanted to get that out of the way early on, and headed to a trout area I 
like to fish. We caught a few nice trout, and put the required meat in 
the well, as well as showing him how to fish an area like that. At our 
next stop we didn't score a fish as we looked for snook and trout along 
the mangroves. We didn't stay long. 
 
   Our third stop was a snook hole I love to fish, and the snook are there, 
but they've not been willing to eat other than a fish or two at a time. 
We did managed to catch another keeper trout there, though. We moved on, 
again, and found a bit of action at our fourth stop. Warren caught one 
snook, lost another, caught a keeper mangrove snapper, and had quite a few 
blows on the chum before it slowed, and we moved on. 
 
   From there we went looking for redfish. We struck out at our first two 
spots, both of which are great for reds as well as snook. What you catch 
usually depends on where you position your bait. So, we made what would 
be the last stop of the day, and finally found one redfish that would eat. 
Now, it was our turn. 
 
   We headed to the Waterfront Restaurant where Warren and I had a great meal 
and a great time talking about a little bit of everything. It was the 
perfect end to a beautiful day on the water with a really super guy. 
 
   Thursday was the nicest day of the week to be on the water, I think. The 
wind was down more, and it was pretty overcast. My trip was with Rick 
Vollmer, of St. Augustine, Florida, who had booked on pretty short notice. 
I'd told him how tough the fishing had been except right on a front, but 
it didn't dissuade him at all. He still wanted to go. Once Rick was at 
the dock and we'd met and talked a bit, I knew we would have fun. And, I 
learned he had a lot of history in Ft. Myers. 
 
I pointed us at the Brown House for bait. I didn't want to have to throw 
that net as much as I'd thrown it the day before, and hoped to find bait 
plentiful there. Well, it was zip, zero, nada. Not a shiner. Hell! Not 
more than a pinfish or so. Back to Tarpon Bay we went! It was more of 
the same, there. It took a long time to get the shiners to show up in 
groups larger than half a dozen. The water was doing strange things, and 
seemed to be moving briskly at the bottom. We just kept at it, and I felt 
around the chum line with the net, and finally we got enough bait to fish 
with. It sure wasn't easy, though. 
 
   By the time Rick and I'd caught bait, we'd pretty well hit it off. We 
shared a lot in common. He also was interested in putting some dinner 
into the well, and my first stop was chosen with that in mind. The tide 
was still low enough to do a little pothole fishing, and we caught some 
nice trout for the table, and one mackerel, there. 
 
   Once that spot slowed down we moved on to a hole that generally has snook 
as well as big trout this time of year. We did get some snook pops on our 
chum, but only caught one nice trout there. Situation normal. The fish 
weren't eating. After working the fairly large area over well, we moved 
to another hole nearby. We had more snook blows there, and Rick got one 
nice snook right at the boat before it managed to get away. As we 
prepared to move on, Rick was treated to the sight of many, many snook in 
that hole, most of which appeared to be 30 to 40 inches in length! 
 
   We moved on much farther north from there, where we were greeted with 
lockjaw at two beautiful places. But, you can bet your bottom dollar 
every bait we tossed at those snook came back scaled. We headed to a 
place where I'd found lots of big snook and trout on a previous trip, and 
had Slammed repeatedly there. We'd finish our day there. 
 
   We'd not been there long when I saw a big dark green female glide by in 
front of us. They were still there. But, the snook just gave us the fin. 
We did catch some very nice trout to 5 pounds, though, which seemed to 
please Rick. Once the tide turned and we fished the first part of the 
outgoing, we called it a day and went to the Waterfront for a late lunch. 
We had a great time there, and Rick agreed the calamari was the best he'd 
had. 
 
   It was a very tough day, yet we'd had a blast and managed to catch some 
fish and put a good dinner in the well. In fact, it had been a great week 
with old friends, and new friends alike. I was supposed to fish with my 
old friends Texas Waders Ron and Pat Hunter on Friday, but we decided to 
reschedule the day once again because the wind forecast was back up, and 
the bite was so tough. Ron lives an hour and a half away, and can pick 
his days. And, that was the week. 
 

Sarasota Area

Anglers fishing with me on my flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB�s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action with snook, big trout, Spanish mackerel and scattered pompano and blues on CAL jigs with shad tails, DOA Deadly Combos and flies during the past couple of weeks. The best action was with big trout on the flats and snook at night. 
Fly anglers Pete Kazmier, from Lakeland, FL, and Tracy Baker, from Homestead, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Sat, 4/10. They caught and released numerous trout, including several large trout weighing 3, 3 � and 4 � lbs, and several Spanish mackerel on Grassett Deep Flats Bunny and Ultra Hair Clouser flies. One of the big trout was sight-fished in skinny water. 
Jack Sinton and Dave Duerson, from Bend, OR, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Mon, 4/12. They had steady action with trout, including several in the slot, and Spanish mackerel on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay on Clouser and Deep Flats Bunny flies. 
Denis Clohisy, from Hudson, WI and Brian McInnis, from Sarasota, FL, fished with me the next 3 days. The best trip was when we fished the flats of Blackburn Bay at dusk on Tuesday evening. They caught and released 5 big trout from 2 � to 4 �-lbs on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails. We moved to lighted docks after dark and the action was fast. They caught and released more than 20 snook to 26� on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. We also caught a nice trout and bluefish out of the lights. 
After cancelling several night snook trips in Jan and Feb due to the freeze and subsequent extended cold weather, we were pleasantly surprised to find snook plentiful and feeding aggressively in the lights. We spent the next couple of days fishing both deep and shallow flats of Sarasota Bay where they had steady action with trout and scattered blues, Spanish mackerel and ladyfish on CAL jigs with shad tails and Clouser and Deep Flats Bunny flies. 
Keith Peplinski, his wife, Becky and dad, Don, all from MI, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday. They had fast action with trout to 3-pounds, blues, Spanish mackerel, pompano and a flounder on CAL jigs with shad tails at the Middleground flat, Stephens Point and near Long Bar. A 30-pound cobia swam up to the boat and gave us a shot, but it didn�t eat. Matt Murray and his son, RJ, from CT, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday morning. They caught numerous Spanish mackerel, blues and a 2-pound trout on CAL jigs with shad tails and Grassett Flats Bunny and Clouser flies at the Middleground flat and Bishops Point. 
John Freedman and Dan Roach, from Venice, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, 4/19. They had some action with trout along the east side of the bay on Flats Bunny and Clouser flies fished on intermediate and intermediate sink tip fly lines. Orvis�s Royal Oak, MI store fishing manager, Rich Merlino, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. We checked the coastal gulf off Siesta Key and found beautiful conditions but no action. However, we did find a few snook in the surf along Siesta and north Casey Key. We came back into Big Pass where we had fast action with blues and large ladyfish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies for a couple of hours. With the sea breeze up in the afternoon, we worked the west side of the bay near Bishop�s Point and caught and released trout and ladyfish on Flats Bunnies and a variety of other flies. 
Long time friends and customers, Les and Kimball Beery, from North Port, FL and Estes Park, CO, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. They had a great day with large trout on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. They caught a few blues and ladyfish in Big Pass to start the day, but the action wasn�t as fast as Tuesday. We moved to deep grass flats along the east side of Sarasota Bay where they had steady action with trout on CAL jigs with gold shad tails. The action got faster and fish got bigger throughout the day. They finished the day with several slot size trout and 6 trout over the slot. Kimball ended the day with a �gator� trout of over 4-pounds on a DOA Deadly Combo. 
My son-in-law, Capt. Andy Cotton, and I fished Sarasota Bay together on Friday to scout for the 15th annual Sarasota CCA Photo All-Release Challenge fishing tournament. We caught several snook, trout to 4-pounds, Spanish mackerel and blues on Clouser and Flats Bunny flies and located some reds to come up with a plan for the next day. On Saturday we fished the tournament and although things didn�t go quite as planned, I won the Fly Fishing division with a snook and a trout. We had 15-20 mph SSE wind by 10 AM, which is straight up Sarasota Bay, causing very rough conditions! More than 120 anglers, in divisions for anglers, youth, fly and ladies fished the tournament. The event is low key and fun for the whole family and also raises money for CCA�s conservation efforts.  
Next week�s tides are good as we head towards a full moon on Wednesday, although daytime flats fishing can sometimes be slow as a result. Fishing deep grass flats, snook at night and the coastal gulf for Spanish mackerel, cobia or tripletail should be good options. Keep your eyes open for the first tarpon of the season along the beaches. 

GULF OF MEXICO

If weather allows, grouper and amberjack are biting

Gulf waters remain a tad on the cool side with temps hovering right around the 60-degree mark. Anglers fishing inside of the 50-foot mark may find a few fish willing to chew but for the most part they can expect the bite to be slow. 
 
On a recent trip, captain Matt McDuffee and crew made a few drops in the 45- to 60-foot range with little luck. He then ran to a spot almost due south of the Whistler Buoy in 70 feet of water and there they found a hot gag bite. Along with a limit of gags they also managed some nice mangrove snapper and a few other bottom dwellers.  
 
One fish that doesn’t seemed to be bothered by the cool Gulf waters is amberjack. The bite around some of the deeper wrecks and springs has been real good. Of course live bait is preferred; however if live bait is unavailable, jigs, when worked properly, will often produce just as well.  
 
Most of the time the jacks will be found holding right over the structure but at times will move off just a bit. Don’t start making drops until you have located the school.  
 
If they’re not holding right over the structure, spin circles around the structure until you locate the school. Mark the depth they are holding at and try to time your drops. Counting down the time you drop your baits down is much more effective that just dropping them down to any depth. 

Pensacola Inshore Fishing Report 

I had a trip today, and although I was a little hesitant at first, because of the cold, what a great day on the water! It had been a while since I had a client on the boat due to the cold weather, rain, and wind we’ve had over the past 9 weeks.

I knew the bite would be good on today’s trip, because I have been out scouting my spots to see where the fish were and to also see how good the bite was. I wanted to check to see if the muddy water had pushed the fish out into the gulf to cleaner water. I had found that some fish had been pushed out, but a lot were still around including white trout and a good amount of redfish. So I was not too surprised when my client, Sue, pulled in a nice 27” Redfish! Well, maybe I was a little surprised; it sure was a beauty! I drifted a few spots along the bridge and was marking good fish, but on one drift I marked the mother lode, so I set anchor, and we just slayed them for 3 hours straight. Somewhere in the three hours, Roy’s drag starting singing an old familiar tune, and I knew it was another red. This was turning out to be good start to my spring trips even though we were about 10 degrees below normal temperatures for the day. We stayed pretty warm by working the fish, and by noon, it had actually gotten warm enough to remove our heavy jackets. With more white trout than you could count and two good slot reds to seal the deal, Roy and Sue were two happy Hoosiers. I enjoyed meeting them and when I found out they were from my old Indiana stomping grounds, it made the day a little more special. I always enjoy showing people from up north how good our fishing is in the Panhandle.

Bait Check 
Today I was tossing 3/4oz jigs; with Berkley Gulp’s 4” Shrimp. A few times I put on a 5” Berkley Gulp Jerk Shad. Colors were mixed today, some New Penny, and some Nuclear Chicken both in the 4” shrimp and Jerk Shads. 

Weekly fishing report

Freshwater.

There have been great catches during the few warm days this week. Big bass and lots of speckled perch make for happy anglers. Watch the weather, when it clears fishing will be gangbusters.

HILLSBOROUGH RIVER: Catfish are still in the news, with great numbers still being taken. There is nothing better than a fresh fried catfish dinner. Specks are also being taken in the Hillsborough River and the Tampa By-Pass Canal. Fish for specks under heavy weed cover around the bridges.

KISSIMMEE CHAIN: Grape Hot times on the water. Great bass and speckled perch catches were had by all. Live shiners are taking good numbers of bass. Specks are large slabs, with the smaller fish being returned to the water.

LORIDA-ISTOKPOGA:: There have been good catches during the weather break. Bass were caught in the 4- to 6-pound range, and there have been a lot of speckled perch catches reported. Next week might not be as good unless the weather improves.

LAKE OKEECHOBEE:   Catfish is the word. A lot of bass and specks are being caught as well, but this is catfish heaven.

LAKE PANASOFFKEE:: There have been great speck and bass catches during the warmer weather, with some limits on specks and a lot of bass.

Saltwater

Anglers who went fishing during the weather lull did well, mostly on trout and redfish.

10,000 ISLANDS: The flats were great for trout fishing. Cobia are around the buoys in deeper water. On calm days, some of the best trout fishing is on the lower West Coast flats. Snook are out of season.

SARASOTA: Little Sarasota Bay is still producing great catches of trout and ladyfish, with the trout mostly over 20 inches.

RUSKIN: Trout were the only game in town. It seems the sheepshead went deeper, most likely to spawn. The power plants are still good for sharks, cobia or jack crevalle.

WESTERN SHORE AND SKYWAY AREA: Trout and a few sheepshead were the best catches this week. During the warm weather, trout were an easy catch.

SOUTH PINELLAS: Captain: Trout were the best catch of the day. However, they are running large, usually over keeper size. During the warm spell, you could also find a few redfish.

FISHING PIERS: Pier fishing offers most of the current species being caught in the bay. Fish for mangrove snapper, redfish, flounder and even a stray grouper.

MID-PINELLAS PARTY BOATS: Grouper are out of season in February. Go offshore for a deep-sea-fishing extravaganza. Fish deeper water for mangrove snapper and gray snapper. You might also catch porgies and amberjack (catch-and-release) on longer trips. The extended and overnight trips will produce the best catches.

The Gandy Bridge is closed to fishing, but the upper bay is producing some whiting and a few redfish and trout.

CLEARWATER to DUNEDIN: When the winds subside this weekend, you should have good trout and some redfish catches to brag about. The big trout were almost everywhere and should be back on the flats soon. Fish the shallow waters in the heat of the day.

TARPON SPRINGS: Redfish appeared in many places during the warm spell. Trout were running more than 20 inches in most cases. Some jacks and reds were around the power plant.

KEATON BEACH Only a few trout were lucky enough to find our bait this week. However, the black sea bass and grunt were biting offshore in 40 to 49 feet of water.

HERNANDO BEACH:: Warm breezes meant great catches offshore. You can catch a lot of keeper mangrove snapper, black sea bass and grunt to take home. Grouper catches were good, with plenty of fish to catch and release. This will end in a few days.

FLY FISHING: Trout were fantastic. The trout were schooled on the flats and were very large, most longer than 20 inches. Just blind cast the flats and you can’t miss. 

STATE WIDE FISHING REPORT

A nearly two-week string of below average temperatures put a damper on fishing, but the recent warm up has triggered speckled perch and bass to start feeding again. 
 
Lake Kissimmee anglers fishing out of Grape Hammock had an excellent weekend working the channel and the southern end of the lake. Limits of good-sized fish were caught in the deepest holes and several fishermen found the bridge and river to be very productive.  
 
Kissimmee bass catches were also on the rebound with a couple 10-pound plus fish caught on shiners. It will take a week of normal temperatures to bring the bass bite back, but if things stay as they are, expect a good bass catches by the upcoming weekend. 
 
Spawning bass showed up on Lake Toho last full moon according to Toho guide Bill Whipple. He had numerous 20-plus fish days before the cold snap but things are improving and Whipple expects the next full moon to be gangbusters. Large shiners have been the easiest way to hook a wall hanger, but soft plastics sight casted on beds will also aggravate the big females to bite. 
 
Around Lakeland, Teneroc has been fair to good with specks being the easiest catch. Minnows are the bait of choice though some using beetle-spins are also filling their coolers. Bass catches like everywhere else were slow but anticipation of better days and trophy fish have anglers excited. 
 
On the saltwater side, lots of roe mullet can still be caught on the flats. An outgoing tide has been best, as the fish tend to stack under the mangroves on the high water tides. Good trout catches were reported in the bay north of the Manatee River. Live shrimp with the tails trimmed are catching most the fish or D.O.A. shrimp under a popping cork will also work. 

Flyfishing Forecast

March is a great month for a variety of species. With the two toughest months to fish behind us (January and February) the action will heat up. Baitfish will become more plentiful on grass flats and reds, snook and trout will become more active as a result. Bluefish and pompano should also be found on deep grass flats along with trout. Migratory species such as Spanish and king mackerel and cobia should also start to show up in our area as they head north. You might also find tripletail in the coastal gulf around crab trap floats and buoys.

Snook season will remain closed during the spring months this year due to the devastating freeze of early January. Details of this closure can be found at www.myfwc.com . Although we lost a large number of snook in January due to the freeze, hopefully it isn’t as bad as feared. Some areas, such as Charlotte Harbor, were hit particularly hard due to lots of shallow water but a large percentage of snook should have escaped to deeper, safe waters.

You should find them on shallow flats, along sand bars and around docks and bridges in the ICW, particularly later in the month. I like to cast jigs and plastic baits for them on shallow flats. Top water plugs should also work well this month, particularly in low light conditions. I like north Sarasota Bay and Gasparilla Sound for snook on the flats in March. They will feed on small baitfish, such as glass minnows, and shrimp in the ICW at night. Small white flies, jigs and plastic shrimp, as well as live shrimp, should all work well around docks and bridges. The ICW from Sarasota to Venice is my favorite area to fish for snook at night. Use tackle heavy enough to land them quickly and handle them as little as possible. Snook need all the help we can give them right now.

Reds should be found on shallow flats this month as baitfish become more plentiful. Look along mangrove shorelines or the top of bars when the tide is high or in potholes, and the edges of bars and flats when the tide is low. Jigs with plastic tails, plastic shrimp and live shrimp will all work well for reds. I prefer shad type plastic tails because they have a lot of action and also will “vibrate” when worked properly. Fly anglers should score with either baitfish, crab or shrimp fly patterns.

You might also find reds around docks. I like docks that have lots of barnacle and oyster growth and a good tidal flow. The closer you can get to the structure the better. You can “skip” plastic baits under docks with a little practice by casting sidearm. I like north Sarasota Bay for reds in the spring, but lower Tampa Bay and Gasparilla Sound are also great areas.

Trout fishing should be strong during March. Reds and trout were two species that were unaffected by January’s freeze. We are fortunate to have lots of variety and trout is usually a species you can depend on. They should be plentiful on deep grass flats this month. However, the biggest fish will usually be found in shallow water. I like to drift and cast jigs or weighted flies ahead of my drift to locate trout on deep grass flats. You might find “gator” trout in potholes or on shallow grass where the same lures will work. Another great lure is a plastic shrimp/clacker float combo. This can also be fished in shallow water by shortening the leader between the plastic shrimp and the clacker.

You might also find pompano, bluefish or Spanish mackerel on deep grass flats this month and they can also be caught with same lures and flies that you would use for trout. Deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay are definitely my favorite areas to fish for trout and more. The usually clean, clear water and lush grass flats are great habitat for a variety of species. You might also find these species in passes, where you can drift with the tide and cast jigs for them. You will need heavy jigs (3/8 or ½ oz) when fishing passes due to deep water and swift currents. You’ll need to use wire or heavy fluorocarbon when targeting blues or mackerel due to their razor sharp teeth.

Look for cobia, king or Spanish mackerel and little tunny in the coastal gulf this month. You might find cobia cruising on the surface or around buoys and channel markers. If they aren’t on the surface, you might find them over structure on one of the many artificial reefs in the coastal gulf off Sarasota. Cobia will require at least medium heavy spinning tackle or 9 to 10-wt fly tackle. A jig head with a jerk worm or a tarpon bunny fly are good choices to catch them. Spanish mackerel and little tunny may be “breaking” on the surface. You may also find kings in and around any surface activity. I like to cast jigs or top water plugs on spinning tackle or Crease flies, poppers and Ultra Hair Clouser flies to them with fly tackle. I’ll occasionally also catch a king mackerel when fishing in a feeding frenzy or over structure. Little tunny, a.k.a, bonito or false albacore, are one of my favorite fish to catch on a fly. They can run fast and far and turn around and come back at you just as fast.

You might also find tripletail in the coastal gulf this month. Look for them around crab trap floats, particularly on a southeast wind. You can cast live or plastic shrimp to them with spinning tackle or shrimp patterns on fly tackle to catch them. Make your first shot count because they are much tougher to catch once they know you are there.

There are lots of options this month. Weather will still be an issue early in the month, but by late in the month, we should be mostly done with winter weather. Whatever you choose to do, remember to always limit your kill, don’t kill your limit! 

Florida Keys Report

Offshore:  
We are on the rebound from last week’s bitter cold here in the tropics. All is balmy once again and the air conditioners are back on! The Blackfin Tuna are pushing baitfish into the air and charters are scoring well on the Tuna. The good news is the Tuna bite referred to is not way offshore on one of the underwater sea mounts, the Blackfin are cruising along in 200 feet of water.  
 
Reefs: 
Ho hum…. Same old story, the SAILFISH BITE IS FANTASTIC!!! The recent “Sailfly” tournament had more fish hooked and released than any previous “Islamorada Sailfly” tournament. Brothers Tim and Robert Klein won top honors with four Sailfish released. King Mackerel action is real good also. Capt. Paul on the Reef Runner has been doing a bang up job on the Sailfish, but also getting a limit of King Mackerel most days too. Some backcountry guides are still taking advantage of the calm weather and the good Mangrove Snapper action on the patches Oceanside in 15 to 25 feet of water. 
 
Gulf and Bay: 
With the coming of the warmer weather also coming back are the Spanish Mackerel to the usual old gulf haunts. The Mack’s are responding to chum and there have been reports of good Mangrove Snapper catches and some Trout and Redfish mixed in with the Mackerel as well. One Gulf favorite, the Tripletail has been conspicuously absent so far in the Gulf waters. Anglers should start looking for Tripletail around anything floating, including buoy lines. Just be careful not to snag the trap line, if you do please go back and make sure your hook is not on the black rope.  
 
Flats, Backcountry and Flamingo: 
A flats report this week tells us the water has warmed up and there are still lots of living breathing fish to be caught. Capt. Dave Atkinson had a pm half day last week with one angler going four for seven on Bonefish. Dave said one fish was about 2 ½ pounds and the rest were about seven give or take. Guides fishing the backcountry and Flamingo area report good action on Black Drum, Redfish, Sheepshead and Trout. 

Indian River 

Last Sunday Atlanta�s Howard Levy and his 15 year old son Joey joined me for a day�s fly fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. After a short run I shut the boat off and we prepared to search for fish. As it turned out, very little searching was needed as we hit it squarely. 
Joey was up first and in ten minutes he had already had numerous shots. Then a rare thing happened- a fish took his fly, a black redfish worm, and got hooked! 
I assumed it was a redfish, but was wrong. It was a black drum, eight pounds or so. Joey had never fished in saltwater and got a solid fish on fly on his first attempt. I love when that happens! 
It was overcast so visibility was bad, but there was no wind for about three or four hours so the fishies were tailing all over the place. We got shot after shot after shot, at both reds and black drum. However, we only got two more bites, and missed both of them. 
Then a breeze came up out of the northeast. 
The fish stopped tailing immediately. We tried finding them anyway and just ran them over. I figured we might do better on a shoreline so we tried that. We ran over a bunch of fish there, too. We just couldn�t see them. 
Rain was approaching from the west and only I had raingear, so at about 1 PM we bagged it. 
 
Monday Howard Levy joined me again. Joey was back in Atlanta at school. We went back to the scene of the crime from the previous day and again, fish were tailing all over the place. In spite of the forecast we had quite a bit of sunshine, although I�m not sure that helped a lot. 
Howard had dozens of shots. The fish weren�t having any. We fished that spot for four hours or so but didn�t once get bit, even though we changed flies several times along the way. Then a northeast wind came up with sufficient force to cause us to change locations. 
We fished several different shorelines and saw fish on every one of them. But a bite was not forthcoming. I thought that he should have gotten three to five fish all things considered. But when we got back to Haulover at 330 PM we had not gotten one bite. 
 
My fisherman for Tuesday cancelled because of the weather forecast. The weather couldn�t have been any nicer, though, not that I went anyway. I did go running. 
 
One morning this week I went out to check my little plot of vegetables. It had been doing great and I was looking forward to having some fresh tomatoes, peppers, green beans, and eggplant in a few weeks. The deer changed all that overnight. 
Anyone out there know how to keep deer out of a garden without putting up an eight foot fence? I thought of sprinkling wolf urine all around it. Good plan, but my wolf supply isn�t very good. Any practical suggestions will be welcomed! 

Ft. Pierce Area

INSHORE - The inshore bite remains steady despite all the wind we have been having. The trout bite has been about the best thing going with fish to 6 pounds being reported. A live shrimp fished under a popping cork has been the way to go. The sheepshead are still feeding on small live shrimp around just about any structure and the fish have been from 2 to 4 pounds. The snapper bite has picked up with fish to 2 pounds being reported. Same as the sheepshead -- around any structure. The flounder bite has been good around the North Bridge and the South Jetty when using a shrimp on a trol-rite hook. Over the weekend a couple of tripletail were reported coming from the channel markers just south of the power lines. A live shrimp was used and the biggest fish was 6 pounds. A few redfish were reported around the docks along North Indian River Drive. A gold spoon or a live shrimp have been working the best. 
 
OFFSHORE - The word over the weekend was DOLPHIN, DOLPHIN, DOLPHIN! We had a group of police and firemen at the motel on Thursday, and Friday for their annual offshore tournament. All the boats had dolphin to 29 pounds and one boat had a 47.5 pound king that was caught on 60 feet of water out of the Ft. Pierce Inlet. Most of the dolphin were caught on small ballyhoo and it was a 50/50 split for naked or skirted. The color over the weekend was a green/yellow skirt and most of the fish were caught in 140 to 200 feet of water. There were a few reports about a good weed line on Friday. The kingfish have been in 30 to 60 feet of water and taking mullet. We had several nice cobia come in and they were from 24 to 37 pounds and caught in about the same area as the kings. Got a couple of reports about big redfish at the Boils on Friday morning. 
 
TEEN ANGLERS - On Sunday - May 2nd the Treasure Coast Chapter of Ten Anglers held their fish of for the Teen Angler of the Year. After all the points were totaled there was a 2-way tie between the current Teen Angler of the Year - Shane Surrency and Dylan Sholander. These two will compete against each other this coming Sunday for the top honor. 2nd place went to Ariel Vance who has been in the program for 4 years -- 2 years as a Junior Teen Angler and 2 years as a Teen Angler. 3rd place went to Robert Dumont who is new to the program this year. Brennen Tessier caught the biggest fish which was a 5lb trout he caught on a live shrimp. For more info on Teen Anglers for the 12 to 18 age group or Junior Teen Anglers for the 5 to 11 age group you can call 772-01-5773 or go to the website at www.teenanglers.org  
 
2nd ANNUAL DOCKSIDE INN MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND FISHING TOURNAMENT - The Dockside Inn will be hosting their 2nd annual Mother's Day weekend fishing tournament. The tournaments will take place on Saturday - May 8th. There is a dock tournament for the kids 12 and under, and also an inshore & offshore tournament with a 100% cash pay out based on the number of entries.. You can call 1-800-286-1745 for more info. 

Treasure Coast

INSHORE REPORT: 
 
Fantastic spring weather rewarded us with great days to fish and lots of action around the river. Both inshore and offshore fishing has improved with the good fishing conditions and it promises to be a wonderful spring around the Treasure Coast. April has lived up to its reputation of a windy month, but became milder as the days wore on. May is always a month of calmer winds and great fishing opportunities. 
 
Trout fishing remains steadfast as the best action around the river. DOA Deadly Combos, live shrimp, CAL jerk baits and top water lures are all working great on the trout around the river. Fishing in two to four feet of water around Harbor Branch, Queen's Cove and Round Island have all been very productive for trout action. Wayne Keever, Mario and Kathleen had a fun day catching trout on the flats. I finally managed a morning to check out some flats and found the trout and redfish to be cooperating very nicely. Most of the reds are on the lower scale of the slot, but they will be the big boys of summer very soon. CAL jerk baits and grub tails worked good on the reds for me this week. I was also rewarded with a top water redfish as well. Sandy flats or around the docks of Fort Pierce will be good areas to look for reds in May.  
 
Snook fishing has been good around the jetties and bridges lately. You will still find bluefish, mackerel and jacks patrolling the jetties. The big jacks are filtering into the river and you should be able to find some drag squealing action around some of the deeper docks. The baitfish are beginning to fill the flats and that means lots of big trout will be there to feed on the many bait schools. It's a great time of year to get out at first light with a top water lures to get in on some great action. Beaches are still producing whiting, jacks and some pompano. The bridges have been good for mostly sheephead this week. May will provide us with some great fishing! 
 
Forecast:  
 
Winds will continue to ease up around the area and early mornings will give you some great top water action around the river. Find the bait schools and fish around them to look for big trout. Redfish will become much more active as the water continues to heat up. You can find reds on the flats throughout the day during May. Snook will be feeding around docks and bait schools on the flats this month. May is always exciting on the river and with the past winter, the fish are ready to fatten themselves up on the baitfish. Plan on getting out this month and have lots of fun