Last week the fishing was a little slow, a pair of slot Trout and 6 shorts. Ran over 3 Gator Trout in about a foot of water, too busy trying to track Reds, they came out to sun but weren't eating This week with a little warmer weather there was a notable improvement. Most of the Trout are holding in 1 to 3 foot of water. Mostly I work the dark grass pockets off of the spoil islands. Most of the time it's jerk baits, any brand works as long as it is Rootbeer with gold flake. One hard bait that is working is the Storm 5" Kickin' Stick. This week saw a 17 and 21' Trout on the Jerk Bait. Some of the spots in this area are back out of the way. One that I like is about a 15 minute run, idle all the way, The scenery is good, get to see a lot of million dollar homes. Once at the prime location, a 2 acre flat that drops off to a deep water canal is the target. First cast a nice Red rolls out, but does not hit. Wait a minute and cast back to the same pocket, a Red wakes out and stops just short of hitting. This is where calm cool and collect pays off. Drop the 2 1/2" Plastic Squid to the bottom and let it sit, after what seemed like hours the Red eased over and inhaled the Squid. Nice fish a 5 spot 23 incher. Worked the edge of the drop and lost a nice Trout, put too much pressure on the fish. Spot a school of 15 to 20 Black Drum lazing on the flat, spent almost 2 hours playing tag, but no hits. Don't even suggest live bait, it's against my religion(Arties Only). Off of the Mangroves an 18" Snook nailed the Squid. After the kills we had here this really an encouraging sign. Starting to see a little more bait every week. Could be a good year.
Don't be afraid to submit reports on what you are catching and where. Nobody will steal your spots and you will help a lot of anglers out. Right now we need all the people we can get out to fish. No fishermen result in a more serious downturn in the Marine and Tackle industries.