End of Winter Fishing

Afternoon tarpon trips can be just as productive as morning trips, and usually end with a Gulf Coast sunset. As the sun starts to lower, it triggers the fish to tell them it’s feeding time. The tarpon in the pictures are 100lb+ and this is a common size tarpon this time of the year. Due to regulations, the tarpon have to stay in the water for the health of the fish, so we can catch those fish for years to come, as a 100lb tarpon is around 15 years old and they can live as long as 50+ years.

Spring fishing in Clearwater is heating up, with water temps rising and fish getting active across the board. Seatrout are biting consistently on the flats with live bait producing best. Redfish are cruising and feeding well on higher tides, taking cut bait and other live offerings. Snook are being caught more often with pilchards and threadfins on moving water getting solid action. Tarpon are just starting to show along the beaches and passes, with threadfins working now and the crab bite right around the corner. Overall, bait is thick and fish are feeding hard

As we get into our spring time fishing patterns, we continue catching plenty of trout, quality redfish, and snook more often as a the water warms up. Some kingfish, Spanish mackerel, and Bonita have been near shore, but that has been limited due to the heavy winds we’ve had this spring. A few have started to show up, but we haven’t spent the time to fish for them yet. The peak of their migration is just a few weeks away.