REPORT:
Boca Grande, Fl
17 Mar 2001
The two week delay in spring fishing is over. The time to fish is now and the fish know it. Snook, Redfish and large Seatrout are being taken on every conceivable bait. Cobia are showing off the beaches, some Spanish mackerel are being reported and a few Tarpon are showing up in the back water and near the passes.
For the next two weeks look for an increase in snook catches. They can be found along the sand and oyster bars on the outside of Bull and Turtle bays, around Boca Grande and Gasparilla passes and near the mangroves in Pine Island Sound. Jim and Judy Leiner, of Nyack, N.Y., took snook to 28 inches and redfish to 24 inches in Turtle Bay on Friday.
Redfish are cooperating just about everywhere. Most are being caught near the mangroves on the rising tide. Look for a hard bottom on open flats for small schools of large reds. Alex Hahn and Jim Elliot took Seatrout to 20 inches and Redfish to 28 inches in Bull Bay early in the week.
The grass flats are producing large numbers of medium size Seatrout. A few larger trout are mixed in. Fly and artificials will take the most fish here. Joe Julavits, of the Jax Times-Union, took trout on fly and top water plugs to 25 inches in the Bull Bay area.
Early April will continue the trend toward excellent fishing. More tarpon should be showing and the weather will be more consistent. There is a lot of bait in the bay now and the fish feed voraciously when that happens.
The full moon is April 7th. Plan your trips in front of that moon by a day or so to get some really fine fishing. April is the best month for really large snook because they are beginning to fatten up for spawning in the later spring and summer.
Call me in the evening at 941-923-6095 for more info.
Tight Lines, Capt. Pete