If you have been putting off fishing until the weather and the bite is right, now is the time! We are enjoying some of the best fishing of the year. The Snook, Redfish and Speckled Trout bite were in full swing this week.
The Snook were everywhere from the docks in Apollo Beach to the back country of Cockroach Bay to just about every little nook of the Little Manatee River. Our biggest fish of the week was only 34 inches but we managed to catch quite a few of them. Green backs were the Snook bait of choice with most of our fish preferring them freelined.
The Redfish have taken up residence down in the Fort DeSoto area with almost every little island holding at least a couple of fish if not a whole school. We found the same to be true in Cockroach Bay as the Reds have taken to the mangrove islands there as well. We found floating greenbacks under a cork as close to the treeline as possible was our best bet on high water. When the tide gets up they are looking for the safety and shade of the those trees. It also creates a great ambush point for feeding.
Capt. Billy enjoyed a great week of Speckled Trout fishing. He was working some deep water oyster bars with freelined greenbacks and had several days in which he caught his limit. We also had good luck on the Trout down around Fort DeSoto using DOA Shrimp under a popping cork and also with the Berkley Gulp 5 inch Jerk Shad in Nuclear Chicken. Work the 3 to 4 foot range for the bigger fish. We caught several this week over 20 inches.
