Springtime fishing!!!:)

Sorry for the pause in-between blog post everyone…. This time of year I am guiding just about every single day weather pending of course… Anyways, here it is!!:) it's springtime again I think! haha!  Even though it's been an interesting winter  this year, most of the fish will hopefully still be following their normal patterns. The fish that did push back into warmer waters will be heading back out to the grass-flats looking for a good meal.

Redfish-   Although you will still see a lot of singles and doubles hanging out, be sure to look for them to be grouping up into small schools… Most of the schools will be mid to upper slot fish with some over-slot fish mixed in. Early in the mornings I will throw top-water and sub surface baits like the Yo-Zuri 3DB Top-Knock and 3D Inshore Series .  And even though it is towards the end of the shrimp run, I will still be targeting them with the Monster 3X 4 ¾ X-MOVE pretty much throughout the whole day. The water is still very clean and clear and it makes for an outstanding sight fishing bait.

Trout-    These fish will be fired up and eating in just about any part of the water column from super skinny to 5-7 ft. of water. Most of the slot fish will be schooled up on the grass-flats in the 4-7 ft. range and your bigger over-slot fish will be in the 1-3 ft. range. I like to use top-waters and hard baits like a Mirro-Dine early in the morning to cover lots of water until I find them. Once I’ve found one I will slow down to work them pretty hard because there are usually more close by.

Snook-    The snook that pushed into the backwaters will be pouring out of the creeks and rivers onto the grass-flats. I like to stage up near the mouth entrances and plug away at them. Again I like to use the Monster 3X X-MOVE but with a little bit heavier jig head. With the stronger currents and the little deeper water, you want to make sure that your bait is getting down into the strike zone.  

   This is generally the best time of the year for weather and fishing so get out there and enjoy it. Be sure to stay safe and be courteous of your fellow anglers while on the water. There is plenty of water and fun for everyone! : )  Tight lines and Tight knots to everyone!  Eric Henson is the owner of Casting Kayaks LLC. a guided kayak fishing company out of Sarasota Florida.

September Tarpon here and almost gone!!!

September is here and that means fall is right around the corner. As we look forward to each day being just a little bit cooler than the next, the fishing will begin to pick up as well. With water temps starting to cool down this gives many of our fish a little more energy to expend hunting for their next meal. They also know they have to feed heavily over the next couple of months so that they will be fattened up before winter when their meals can become fewer and farther between.

Redfish- This is an incredible month for one of my favorite species! Redfish will be schooled up in huge numbers as they continue through their spawning season. Some days they can be picky but, other days they will eat just about anything that crosses their paths. Most of these fish will be over the keeping slot size but, that doesn’t matter because there is still a closer on redfish until 2020. None the less they are an absolute blast to catch!

Snook- This is my other favorite species to catch this time of year! The season usually opens this month but, they will closed until 2020 as well. Snook will be heading back in from the gulf from spawning all summer long. But because they are quite sensitive to the colder water temps in the winter, these fish take complete advantage of the optimal water temps throughout the next couple of months. This means they will be feeding excessively making them easier to catch. Snook can actually die if water temps get down to around 55 degrees. So, in the coldest months they will travel far back into the backwaters as possible.

Tarpon- They will continue to become less active as the cooler months approach us. But, the juvi tarpon bite should stay pretty strong until we get those first couple of cold snaps. Catch them while you can! Winter is coming (haha)!

Since redfish and snook are still banned from harvesting, be sure and please handle all these fish with extreme care! We all have to do our best to preserve what we love so, that our fisheries will continue to be world flourish.