The spring bite is on fire here in Southwest Florida! Bait has arrived and is just about anywhere you look, the trout are big and in the middle of their spring spawn, redfish and snook are present all over the mangrove islands as well as some juvenile tarpon and the weather is great most days. As stated the trout are large and in charge, most of the trout we are finding are over slot, big females that are very obviously carrying eggs. Most trout range around 19-23 inches but we have been fortunate enough to catch a few in the high 20’s. We have had some really great fights with juvenile tarpon lately in some of the common spots in the backcountry. They put on a great acrobatic show with huge jumps and strong runs pulling drag along the way. Snook and reds are out and hungry, throwing bait fish chum around the mangrove lines will usually make for a great show as they begin chasing, popping and inhaling the greenbacks fluttering through the water. The fishing is heating up and lines are tight every day from start to finish.

Is it too soon to welcome spring into SWFL? I don’t think so, we are starting to see a glimpse of the most wonderful season for big trout, healthy snook, strong reds and many other fun times on the water. Gator trout are scattered throughout the sound right now as well as plenty of redfish. Soon we will switch our bait of choice from shrimp to greenbacks and pinfish giving us many more opportunities for big snook fights. It has been a blast out on the flats lately but also tons of action just a few miles offshore. Sheepshead are still strong even as we approach the end of spawning season, snapper, grunt and many other species can be found on the nearshore trips and it makes for a fun time especially for kids, the constant action keeps them fighting fish throughout the entire trip.

In most of the country the groundhog determines when spring will arrive, out here on the water we have our own signs of early spring. For one, when we start catching the big gator trout it’s a sure sign great weather, fishing and fun are just around the corner. For those who aren’t aware when a speckled sea trout gets over the 20” mark we consider them a gator trout, a term that has been around for as long as I’ve been alive and maybe longer. These big behemoths are fun to fight, and on the plus side the state of Florida allows us to keep one gator trout a piece because of the effect they can have on the young trout as they tend to prey on the babies. Aside from our increasing trout bite we are starting to see redfish that are just getting into slot size and the best sign of spring, the big snook are showing up. Spring will also bring us better bait to net and in turn great bites from all these big predator fish. The nearshore bite has been incredible lately as well with tons of tasty snapper, sheepshead and grunts. Spring is upon us and it’s going to be a blast.

Sheepshead fishing is in full swing and they’re giving us some fun days on the water. These tasty, hard fighting fish are highly sought after during our winter months. They can be a tricky fish to hook, with a mouth full of human like teeth the areas to set a hook are few which can make them an even tougher target. Alongside the sheepshead we are catching Pompano,reds, snapper and black drum, plenty of variety and good eating fish to catch when the weather is cold. For the next couple months we will stick to shrimp for our bait of choice. Catching white bait these times of the year can be difficult and the fish switch their food choices to bait easier to catch like shrimp, crabs and sand fleas. Fish get slower with dropping water temps so their energy levels drop as well, they still fight like crazy and show us a great time on the water.

Winter is approaching and that means the Sheepshead are coming in to our inshore waters. These big, powerful and very delicious fish become our focus in the cold months. The best way to ensure catching a lot of these fish is to use live crabs or shrimp with an extra sharp hook, I prefer 3/8 ounce jig heads. It’s important to remember these fish have a mouth full of teeth much like human teeth, that line the entirety of their mouth to crush up their favorite food, crustaceans and sometimes getting a good hook set can frustrate even the best angler. Aside from sheepshead we are still catching plenty of redfish, trout, mangrove snapper and snook. These coming months will bring lower water temps meaning fewer food options for these predators, greenbacks will be on the move to warmer waters soon and we will be fishing exclusively with shrimp, pinfish and cut bait. These fish remain very active through winter and the fishing will stay strong despite conditions us generational Floridians don’t care for, but the active fishing keeps us warm until we get warmer days.

The weather is cooling down but the fishing is heating up, and it’s getting to be some of the finest fishing of the year. We are finding large schools of redfish, big hungry snook, larger slot sized trout and to top it off the sheepshead are moving inshore for the winter months. We are starting to transition over to fishing shrimp but still catching nice white bait for the big predators to eat. It’s a great time to get out and fight some fish, the winds have held us up from going offshore much but the inshore bite is just as good and the results speak for themselves.