The fishing in April has really fired off the past week with anglers commenting they haven’t seen fishing like this in quite a few years, and some even reminiscing that it reminds them of fishing in the ‘70s. Keeping a yearly fishing log will help you be prepared for what might show up during a certain period of the month but not many were prepared for what they experienced last week. Water temperatures have risen into the mid 60s and that means more species will begin arriving in the coming days as well. Regrettably, some cooler temperatures and plenty of wind have hindered the boating anglers the past few days and that will also continue into the weekend, but you can bet once conditions improve, there’ll be plenty more fish to catch.
As mentioned last week, the arrival of Spanish mackerel was anticipated any day and just as the report was going to print, the Spanish mackerel did in fact make a strong showing. Anglers fishing for Atlantic bonito found the Spanish also ready and willing to take those offerings with some good fishing being found around the 5 Mile Boxcars and Sheepshead Rock as well as several areas in between. Most anglers found the fish by trolling small Clark Spoons although there were some reports of them finding busting schools of fish. One species that wasn’t expected was the king mackerel, and lots of them. These fish took interest in the same lures and many fishermen limited out in quick fashion. Most of these fish were on the small side, averaging six to eight pounds, the perfect size to bring home for dinner. The cooler weather seems to have pushed them off the beach a little ways, but with the amount of fish that were reported, you can bet they’ll show back up about anytime.
Off the beach, those making it to the Gulf Stream reported some very good fishing for wahoo and gaffer dolphin with a few blackfin tuna mixed in. Areas around the Steeples and Same Ole Hole produced but reports were limited due to ocean conditions and just a small amount of boats making that trek.
The piers are reporting plenty of bluefish being caught on Got-Cha Plugs and those Spanish that were found off the beach last week should soon be arriving close enough for pier anglers to get into the action. Fresh shrimp is catching some Virginia mullet and a few black drum. Surf anglers are reporting some of the same with the bluefish mainly coming on small spoons and cut bait. A few red drum are also being caught along the deeper sloughs and holes along the beach.
Inshore, the decent red drum fishing continues with fish being caught on both artificial and natural baits such as mud minnows. Anglers are reporting more and more baitfish in the area creeks so that fishing should only continue to get better with some action from flounder being seen about anytime.
Now that the month of May is just a day away, some anglers will start turning their attention on the arrival of cobia, which areas to our north have already started to see. Next week, we’ll cover some tips and tactics if you are interested in wrangling with one of these tasty beasts.
