Pompano are still around, you will have to fish around the June grass as it has become thick in spots and better in others. The national seashore in Navarre, Topsail Hill state park and Grayton beach state park in Destin have been good spots. Sand fleas, fresh shrimp and jigs do well. Plenty of ladyfish, hardtails and blues can be caught on spoons, jigs, gotchas and straw rigs. Whiting on fresh peeled shrimp in washouts close to shore on calm days.King mackerel should be good on windy days, early morning and mid afternoon on trade wind days. Also anytime we get a weather front. Live or frozen cigar minnows, rattle traps, spoons and rapalas all work well. Spanish are plentiful. Also hardtails, ladyfish, blues and a few pompano. Gotchas, spoons, bubble rigs and jigs work great whiting in the surf on fresh peeled shrimp. And a s a bonus tarpon roam the beaches around the pier all month. Either early morning of just before dark is the time to get one to bite.Much like the pier and the surf, lots of Spanish mackerel, hardtails, ladyfish and blues. Throw in a few reds, black snapper and sheephead. Reds and sheephead like live shrimp. Black snapper can be caught on small cut pieces of frozen cigar minnows.Well snapper continue to bite on near shore wrecks and reefs. Live bait (cigar minnows and herring ) are best baits and frozen will work. Try sending a block of chum to the bottom the get them fired up. Go farther out around the edge to catch grouper and amberjack along with larger red snapper. Again live bait here works better especially live hardtails or pinfish for grouper or amberjack.Kings are fairly easy along the beaches and near shore wrecks and reefs, as always live cigar minnows and herring work best. As the day goes on and weather continues to heat up the fish will go deep in the middle part of the day. When this happens a planner or even better yet a downrigger will produce bites down deep when nothing else will. Yozuri minnows, bonitos and Mann

Excellent catches should be found all month. Pompano, whiting and reds can be caught on the bottom with sand fleas or fresh peeled shrimp. Spanish, ladyfish, hardtails and blues bit good on spoons, jigs or gotchas. Maybe a cobia or two still around, try a eel or cigar minnow on the bottom for these.Spanish can be caught all month on gotchas or spoons or straw rigs. Kings will be plentiful most days on live or frozen cigar minnows, rattle traps, and spoons. A few blackfin tuna and some cobia are still around so keep a jig or eel handy. Tarpon start showing up this month and they like larger live baits such as hardtails. And if you just want some good action Bonita and ladyfish will be more than abundant this month.Look for the jettys to produce plenty of Spanish, ladyfish, and hardtails. Reds on live shrimp, black drum and sheephead on shrimp of live fiddler crabs. Pompano will be around and like jigs or sand fleas. Well Snapper season is finally here and open in both state and federal waters. Fish should be easy to find this month. Most wrecks should be loaded. Look for grouper in 120-280 ft water. Amberjack are aggressive this time of year before the water heats up, diamond jigs and clouts are producing a lot of fish this time of year but live bait is always better for really big ones.Kings are here in force. Dusters rigged with cigar minnows, large plugs and spoons produce very well. Try a downrigger or planner in the heat of the day. Catch Spanish along the shore trolling with a spoon and straw rig. Blackfin tune patrol the edge and school dolphin move close to shore. Bonita and jack cravalle frequent most near shore reefs for a good time and plenty of action.Offshore really starting to heat up. Wonderful catches of wahoo, blackfin tuna and dolphin work the edges, flats and out to the nipple, 165-400 feet of water. Reports of scattered grass live have been coming in and the weeds should only get thicker as the month goes on. Expect to see both white and blue marlin in the same areas. Yellowfin tuna are in the mouth of the canyon and on the rigs to the southwest.Trout and reds will be on the flats in the morning and evenings, they push to deeper holes in the day. Top water lures are great for some exciting action when the fish are on the flats. Live shrimp or greenies are best when fishing deep water. Sheephead and black drum around the bridges on live shrimp or live fiddler crabs. Large jack cravelle are in the bayous and around deep water bridges.

This is on of the best surf fishing months. Pompano should be good all month long, along with cobia the first of the month.  Blue fish, whiting, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel all can be caught from the surf.  Sand fleas will be the best bait.  Fish them on the bottom with a circle style hook and no wire, use only a mono leader.  Remember not to cast beyond the fish; some of the best fish are caught between the sand bars.  You might carry an eel or other live bait incase you see a cobia or king mackerel.  Spanish mackerel will be the primary target.  King mackerel, cobia, sheepshead, whiting, blue runners, ladyfish, redfish, and amberjack will all be caught this month.  Spanish will be hitting Gotcha’s the first of the month, but as the waters warm they will begin to surface feed and the bubble with straw rig will become the lure of choice.  This is a great month for fishing the jetty.  Spanish mackerel, sheepshead, redfish, ladyfish, Bonita, mangrove snappers, cobia and blue runners will all be caught this month.  Spanish mackerel will be the number one target.  Gotcha’s plugs will be the best lure at the beginning of the month.  As the month moves on and the waters warm the straw rig and bubble will be the best lure.  The Spanish will start to surface feed and the straw rig works best.  Remember; work the lures very fast with a short jerk.  When the Spanish are slow be sure not to use a wire leader but use a 40-50 lb. mono leader.  If they are hitting good you can get a way with using a wire leader and not loose as many lures, you will just get less bites.  Live shrimp and fiddler crabs will be the best bottom fishing bait.  Just be sure to carry a hand full of hooks, the best place to fish in right in the rocks.  Blue runners and lady fish are not generally good to eat but when the school comes through they are sure fun to catch.  The Gotcha’s and straw rig work well as does a white bullet jig.  If you are going to be at the jetty for a while be sure to throw out large live bait, I like to put a large float on it, lots of large cobia and jacks run around the jetty.  SNAPPER, SNAPPER, SNAPPER AND SNAPPER.  The long awaited opening day of red snapper has come and gone now it’s time to explore your favorite spot.  The first week of snapper season brought people out of the wood work.  Fishing has been good not only for snapper but the grouper and amberjack both have also been very good.  Best bait for snapper is cigar minnow or northern mackerel (cut the tails off to prevent them from spinning.  The thread fin herring have showed up in the bay.  You can catch them on sabaki rigs; they will be on the dirty side of the tide line in the lower bay.  Live bait will also start to show up around the buoys and on the inshore wrecks.  The Capt Jack’s live bait boat will also start the first week of May.  Snapper and amberjack will be caught best up off the bottom while the grouper will be right on the bottom.  You might also throw bait out behind the boat because some times they will come up in the water or there may be a king mackerel around.  April saw a good number of large king mackerel caught in on the beach.  This was a good sign that May will again be a good king mackerel month, not only in numbers but with some large fish as well. Lots of people prefer to troll dead cigar minnow with dusters, which is very productive.  But if they are picky nothing beats a live herring or cigar minnow to get their attention.  Hayabusa sabaki are by far the best bait rig and are well worth the extra money.  You can generally find bait around the buoys, or there is always Capt Jack’s live bait boat.  The end of the month the school dolphin, Bonita and Wahoo will show up.  As the warmer waters move inshore the tuna, dolphin and marlin become reachable.  April saw good numbers of black fin tuna on the beach, a good sign of things to come.  Watch the satellite temperature charts to see where the warm waters are to save time and money.  Wahoo and dolphin will show up first with tuna right behind.  I like to high speed troll to find the fish or tide line then use natural or live bait to really focus on the fish. The speckled trout and redfish will return to the grassy flats.  Winter fishing is fun but to see the trout and redfish hit top water bait is a thrill.  Live shrimp is still the preferred bait but top water plugs like Yo-Zuri crystal minnow are lots of fun to use.  I like to fish the high tide and the next few hours after, also the last hour of daylight. Bull redfish can be found in the past between the number 5 buoy and the jetty, best time to fish is a tide change.  Sheepshead will be on most bay wreck and the jetty, live shrimp and fiddler crabs are the best bait.  Remember to set the hook just before they bite.  Spanish mackerel will be around all month, best to troll with a Clark spoon.  Early in the month use a 00 and change to a 0 mid month as both the Spanish and the bait fish get bigger.  The warmer weather brings back wade fishing for the speckled trout and redfish.  Top water poppers and streamers are good choices.  Might look at getting in on the Spanish mackerel before they leave, just work the fly very fast.

Excellent catches should be found all month. Pompano, whiting and reds can be caught on the bottom with sand fleas or fresh peeled shrimp. Spanish, ladyfish, hardtails and blues bit good on spoons, jigs or gotchas. Maybe a cobia or two still around, try a eel or cigar minnow on the bottom for these.Spanish can be caught all month on gotchas or spoons or straw rigs. Kings will be plentiful most days on live or frozen cigar minnows, rattle traps, and spoons. A few blackfin tuna and some cobia are still around so keep a jig or eel handy. Tarpon start showing up this month and they like larger live baits such as hardtails. And if you just want some good action Bonita and ladyfish will be more than abundant this month.Look for the jettys to produce plenty of Spanish, ladyfish, and hardtails. Reds on live shrimp, black drum and sheephead on shrimp of live fiddler crabs. Pompano will be around and like jigs or sand fleas. Well Snapper season is finally here and open in both state and federal waters. Fish should be easy to find this month. Most wrecks should be loaded. Look for grouper in 120-280 ft water. Amberjack are aggressive this time of year before the water heats up, diamond jigs and clouts are producing a lot of fish this time of year but live bait is always better for really big ones.Kings are here in force. Dusters rigged with cigar minnows, large plugs and spoons produce very well. Try a downrigger or planner in the heat of the day. Catch Spanish along the shore trolling with a spoon and straw rig. Blackfin tune patrol the edge and school dolphin move close to shore. Bonita and jack cravalle frequent most near shore reefs for a good time and plenty of action.Offshore really starting to heat up. Wonderful catches of wahoo, blackfin tuna and dolphin work the edges, flats and out to the nipple, 165-400 feet of water. Reports of scattered grass live have been coming in and the weeds should only get thicker as the month goes on. Expect to see both white and blue marlin in the same areas. Yellowfin tuna are in the mouth of the canyon and on the rigs to the southwest.Trout and reds will be on the flats in the morning and evenings, they push to deeper holes in the day. Top water lures are great for some exciting action when the fish are on the flats. Live shrimp or greenies are best when fishing deep water. Sheephead and black drum around the bridges on live shrimp or live fiddler crabs. Large jack cravelle are in the bayous and around deep water bridges.

As the water warms up the Pompano will start to bite, by the end of the month they should be caught in good numbers.  Sand fleas are the best bait when fishing from the shore.  They are generally hard to find most of the month but become plentiful by April.  If you can not find any fleas then a peeled shrimp works well.  At the end of the month the Spanish mackerel will start to show up in the surf.  They are caught in large numbers off the pier and a few out of the surf. With the cold winter we have had it looks like it will be a late spring for fishing.  The Spanish will show up in March but most likely not in great numbers until April.  The Got-Cha plug is the best bait, reel it fast with a short jerk.  When they are scarce and fishing is slow use a mono leader about 30lb test.  You will loose a few lures but get lots more bite.  Once fishing gets better you can go to a wire leader and you won’t use the lures.  There will also be Pompano and Cobia caught in March.  The Pompano will be spotty with a few good days, but no regular catches.  Remember sand fleas are the best bait.  A Cobia will be caught but April is the month for them.  A live eel is the best bait especially early in the year when you don’t see many fish.  The Jetties will have the best action for the shore fishermen.  The Spanish will show up first here of shore fishermen.  Again a Got-Cha plug is the best bait.  There will also be sheepshead, mangrove snappers and redfish caught in good numbers.  Live shrimp is the best bait for all these except the Spanish Mackerel. I would not recommend using a wire leader but use 25-40 lb mono instead.  At the end of the month floating a live eel might bring a big surprise as Cobia find lots of good feeding around the jetty.  The grouper fishing continues to be very good with many great catches being reported.  This should continue all month.  The inshore places might not be a productive as the pass few months as the water warms up.   Large dead or live bait will get you through the snapper and give a grouper time to get to your bait.  You might use a heavier lead than normal to get you down faster and let the bait lay just off the bottom to stay away from the snapper.  Remember that Red Snapper season opens April 15th in state water and April 21st in federal waters, should be very good fishing the first few weeks. By the end of the month should start to see Amberjack move onto the inshore wrecks.   With the cooler water most migratory fish have not moved in yet.  The warm water is so far offshore very little big game fishing going on. However, April will bring chances for the giant Bluefin Tunas.  Speckled trout fishing will continue to be good.  They have started to move out of the canals and bayous and can be found moving on the flats and other areas of the bay.  Live shrimp continues to be the best bait. The big bull redfish will start to be more plentiful in the pass.  Spanish Mackerel will first show up in the bay and then move to surf  waters.  Get a couple of pretty days in a row and they should show up around Redfish point and down off Tyndal. By the end of the month they should be in full swing.  A Clarkspoon with a mackerel tree works best.  They first Spanish will be very small with lots not being the 12 inch size limit, so use a 00 size spoon.  As the month and season goes on they will get bigger so you will need to go up in spoon size.  They will also tend to be deep so troll slow and use a heavy lead or small planer. At the end of the month the Spanish should be in good number with great fly fishing.  Get in a school and start chumming this could be great fun with lots of action.

Well look for things to really heat up. Lots of pompano, whiting, reds and cobia. Pompano, whiting and reds can be caught with sand fleas, fresh peeled shrimp and fiddler crabs. Use florocarbon leaders, Owner mutu light hooks and 4oz leads for distance. Breakaway, Daiwa, Star and G-loomis all make11-13 foot rods will give you the casting distance to reach the fish, as for reels Daiwa emblem-x or emblem-z spinning reels, casting reels Abu 6500c3ct-mag, 6500c3ct Blue yonder, Penn 525mags or Daiwa Sl-x30hv reels are great. Cobia can be caught on eels bottom fishing or sight casting.Cobia will be here all month, jigs and eels work well. Plenty of pompano on pink, orange or chartuese jigs, sand fleas or fresh peeled shrimp. Fiddler crabs will get sheephead and black drum. Lots of spanish mackerel on gotchas, spoons or bubble rigs.Pompano on sand fleas, fresh peeled shrimp. And jigs. Reds both keeper size and over size will be cruising the rocks, sive shrimp or fiddler crabs for the legal ones, pinfish for the throwback bull reds. Maybe even a cobia on a eel. Lots of sheephead and black drum on fiddler crabs.Triggers should continue to bite good near the beach, plenty of amberjack on near shore wrecks and larger ones around the south edge and larger offshore wrecks. Some grouper moving into shallower water looking for bait fish. Loads of spanish mackerel on straw rigs, rigged with a clark spoon and trolling lead 3-4oz. Try the pass, harbor and along the beach just off the sand bar. Cobia!! Yes Cobia!! Along the beaches they will be cruising. Live eels are the best choice and jigs second. Spot casting from a tower is option 1 but they can be caught trolling on a yozuri squid or l-jack lure. A Wahoo or two around the edge and any warm water tide line. Yellowfin and blackfin tuna areound the rigs.Plenty of sheephead and black drum around the bridge pilings. Fiddler crabs are the best choice of bait but live shrimp will work. Trout moving to the flats and reds around most boat docks with deep water access.

Pompano should be around on the nice days as well as some nice size winter whiting. Fresh peeled shrimp or sand fleas will be the best baits. With cooling water temps the fish will be further offshore than in spring and fall so a linger rod 11 or 12 foot will add to you catch as well as a long cast designed surf reel filled with power pro braided line.There is a really good chance that someone will get the first pompano from the pier this month and win the free pass good for the season. Weather in December was great and water temps are still plenty good for pompano. There are some winter bonito to be had, white jigs and cigar minnows are the best bait. Flounder on bull minnows and some sheepshead on live or fresh shrimp.The jetties are about the same as the pier. They should be some pompano, flounder sheepshead and winter bonito here also. The other good thing here is that there should be some legal size reds as well as some bull reds here and always the chance at a winter grouper.Plenty of triggers, mingos, and white snapper in shore in the 3-10 mile range. Further out in the 15-30 mile range good numbers of grouper and amberjack. The key to grouper and amberjack will be catching large enough live pinfish that you can use to get past the red snapper. Red snapper are of course closed until April 15th. Some flounder around the lip of the pass, the red and green can buoys and the sea buoy. Just about the only thing to catch inshore trolling this time of years is bonito. Large plugs or feather dusters dragged at about 4-6 knots work best.Not many people are thinking of offshore fishing this time of year butt on the nice days between weather fronts can be wonderful. The black fin and yellow fin tuna as well as wahoo can be caught in good numbers in winter, they are just further out than normal. The area around the rigs is the best area to try. The rigs hold plenty of bait in winter and the tuna and wahoo know this so they come often to feed. The rigs are just a little over a 100 miles but many winter days are nice enough to travel the distance if you watch the weather.Lots of trout in the bayous in deep water holes. Also around the mouth of the river and the ditch between east bay and west bay holds trout. Plenty of sheepshead and black drum around most bridges for the live shrimp and fiddler crab fisherman. Some reds in the harbor and around most any structure. This is also a good time of year to try some of the bay wrecks for winter grouper.Opportunities are not as plentiful as spring and summer but there are still a few fish to catch. One of the easiest are winter bonito in the surf. They readily take flies and the north wind days make casting in the surf easy as the wind will be at your back. Early mornings are best and the coldest of days are sometimes better then the real warm days. Look for fish under schools of bait fish and seagulls. Both are a good indicator the bonito could be in the area. A lot of times you can see the bonito chasing the bait fish and you will even see them jumping making for great spot casting chances.

Pompano have been good. Lots of smaller fish now but as water temps cool the larger fish should get more aggressive. Live sand fleas when available are best baits but frozen sand fleas, fresh peeled shrimp, fiddler crabs and jigs work well. Good numbers of whiting, some blue fish, and flounder on live bull minnows.King mackerel well slow down this month, but still some big smokers around. Blackfin tuna on both moon changes should be good early and late each day and at night. Loads of flounder on bull minnows, pompano on jigs, shrimp and sand fleas. Spanish mackerel steady on gotchas, spoons and straw rigs. Blue fish on cut cigar minnows early evening and at night. Bull reds to big to keep but fun to catch just at dusk almost every night.Bull reds on live pinfish or cigar minnows, keeper size reds on live shrimp or spoons. Bluefish most afternoons and evenings on cut cigar minnows. Spanish mackerel on gotchas, spoons and straw rigs. Flounder on bull minnows.Snapper are now closed but don

Pompano are back, many fishermen have been catching their limit. Fresh peeled shrimp and sand fleas are the best baits. There are good numbers of whiting also being caught on shrimp. In the spring sand fleas tend to be best but the fall run of pompano and whiting seem to bite much better on fresh peeled shrimp. A lot of ladyfish, blue fish and hardtails on jigs or spoons. Sharks have been plentiful in the late afternoon or early evening hours. Try using frozen cigar minnows or finger mullet for bait. If you get luck and a north wind is blowing use a balloon to float the bait father out. King mackerel have been steady in the mornings and the afternoons. Live cigar minnows, Ely

Lots of ladyfish, hardtails, yellowtails and bluefish on gotcha lures and spoons. Pompano and whitting on fresh shrimp and sand fleas. Pink or orange jigs also work well. Larger bluefish and sharks in the late afternoon and early evening on frozen cigar minnows. King mackerel should be good in the morning, mid afternoon, just before dark and any day we have a rainy front move through. Kings are best on live or frozen cigar minnows but will hit spoons, rattletraps and rapalas. Spanish, ladyfish, hardtails and bluefish on gotchas, spoons, bubble rigs and jigs. Some pompano on pink or orange jigs as well as sand fleas or shrimp. Tarpon most days at sunup and sunset.Black snapper on shrimp close to the rocks. Redfish on the changing tides, smaller ones on live shrimp and spoons larger bull reds on live pinfish or spoons. Spanish mackerel and ladyfish on gotchas and spoons. A few grouper on cigar minnows. Amberjack are great along the edge and larger metal structure

Now that June grass has started to dissipate, pompano fishing should start to rise again. Live shrimp and sand fleas are best, but frozen will work. Catch a lot of ladyfish and hardtails on Gotcha lures and spoons. Good numbers of small sharks can be had on frozen cigar minnows just before and just after dark

Pompano are great along the beaches but the best areas are Grayton Beach, Topsail Hill State Park, Navarre Gulf Island National Seashore. Make a rig out of 20 lb fluorocarbon leader. Owner mutu light hooks size #2 or #4. And a 3-4 oz pyramid sinker for the absolute best results powder paint your hooks and leads. Either pink, orange or chartreuse. Of course live sand fleas are the best bait, but fresh peeled shrimp or frozen sand fleas will work well. Dip them in Smelly Jelly for better results. There are also some Spanish mackerel, blue fish, lady fish, and hard tails to be caught on spoons, gotchas and jigs.King mackerel very early in the morning, mid morning and just before dark. Live or frozen cigar minnows on a 40 lb Sevenstrand about 18 inches long with a 1/0 treble hook drifted off the end of the pier. Some pompano on orange or pink jigs. Spanish mackerel, blue fish and lady fish on gotchas, spoons or bubble rigs. Some whiting on small cut pieces of shrimp fished near the surf. Tarpon at sun up and sun down on live cigar minnows or live hard tails. Rigging for Tarpon best on 60-80 flurocarbon leader, 24 - 36 inches long with a 6/0 muto circle hook, no lead needed. Pompano on sand fleas live or frozen, fresh peeled shrimp or jigs. Spanish mackerel, lady fish, blue fish and hard tails on gotchas, spoons, bubble rigs and jigs. Reg fish, black snapper, black drum and founder on live shrimp or live bull minnows. Some small sharks at night on frozen cigar minnows or finger mullet. Snapper are good from the 5-25 mile range. The further you go out, the bigger they get and more plentiful. A Carolina Rig (5 foot 50 pound fluorocarbon leader, 6-12 oz egglead and a 3/0 - 6/0 owner muto light circle hook) with a live cigar minnow, herring or threadfin herring will do well. For grouper and amberjack use the same rigging style, but 80 - 90 pound fluorocarbon leader 8 - 16 oz lead and 6/0 - 10/0 owner circle hook with larger live bait work well. Some good places inshore to try catching these are tug boats, Miss Louise 3022.337/8625.343, Miss Janet 3015.881/8623.165. Offshore would be Lost Tug 3012.21/8657.93, SW. Ridge 3005.01/8643.93, 3002.32/8643.13, Ship 3004.66/8633.16, Old Forty 3005.09/8658.54 Spanish mackerel along the beaches on mackerel trees rigged with a #1 Clark Spoon and a 2-4 oz tolling lead. Try around the pass, along beaches and old Crystal Beach Pier. Kings are good on dusters rigged with dusters trolled on a downrigger. Yozuri bonitos, hydro squid and hydro tigers all produce school size kings. The southeast rocks 3019.98/8628.13 and broken bottom 3019.09/8627.23 are both good places to try. For big kings the timber holes 3011.11/8652.00 and rock cliffs 3017.23/8658.63 are perfect spots to try. For big kings nothing works better than live hard tails, live cigar minnows and herring work good but produce smaller fish. A long leader 40 or 60 pound Sevenstrand and a 1/0 44 strong treble hook stinger with a 4/0 94150 live bait hook for bait slow trolled on a downrigger or drifted in a chum slick will do well.I would start fishing along the southwest edge 5008.79/8659.52 work my ways to the rock cliffs 3017.23/8658.63 then out over the breaks to the nipple 2951.587/8705.614, then out across the flats 2954.20/8646.10. These areas should be good for wahoo and dolphin. Islander lures red/white, blue/white, or purple/black rigged with a ballyhoo 6-8 knots. For tuna, work your way across the 131 hole 2948.369/8705.936 out towards the spur 2927.320/8656.298. Keep a good eye out for whale sharks and shrimp boats as the tuna usually follow both. The shrimp boats usually cull the catch around 7-8 am and 3-4 p.m. and if you are around then the tuna will surely be good. Small catchy lures, hydro tigers, soft heads and jets all get good bites rigged on 80 lb fluorocarbon and a 6/0 - 8/0 76915 mustad hook. Remember to look for weed lines, rips and tide lines, fish the blue water side of the line. As always, while fishing any of these areas, while fishing any of these areas, there is always the possibility of blue and white marlin.Specked trout and red fish at sun up or just before sun down on the grass flats. Live shrimp drifted over the flats underneath the popping cork works wonderful. If you like lures yozuri, crystal minnows, DOA shrimp, fin

POMPANO, WHITTING AND REDS ARE GOOD ON SANDFLEAS, FRESH PEELED SHRIMP AND JIGS. PLENTY OF LADYFISH, BLUES AND HARDTAILS ON GOTCHAS AND SPOONS.KINGS IN THE MORNING AND THE AFTERNOON. SPANISH THROUGH OUT THE DAY, POMPANO NEAR THE BEACH ON JIGS, SANDFLEAS AND SHRIMP. PLEANTY OR WHITTING AND A FEW TARPON STARTING SHOW. LOTS OF HARDTAILS AND LADYFISH, SOME POMPANO AND SPANISH. REDS ON LIVE SHRIMP. LOTS OF BLUEFISH ON THE OUT GOING TIDE. RED SNAPPER ARE ALMOST EVERYWHERE, FROM NEAR SHORE TO THE EDGE. GROUPER AND AMBERJACK AROUND THE EDGE AND LARGE METAL STRUCTURES.KING ARE HERE IN FORCE ESPECIALLY AROUND THE THE BROKEN BOTTOM, SOUTHEAST ROCKS, POLE SPOT AND TIMBER HOLES. LOTS OF BONITO AND CHICKEN DOLPHIN. DOLPHIN AND WAHOO ARE STARTING TO SHOW UP IN GOOD NUMBERS ALONG THE EDGE, FLATS AND NIPPLE, TUNA ARE IN THE 35-80 MILE RANGE WITH GOOD NUMBERS OF YELLOW FINS, BLACKFINS AND SOME SKIPJACK. A FEW BLU MARLIN HAVE BEEN SPOTTED BUT NOT CAUGHT. TROUT AND REDS ARE ON THE FLATS IN THE MORNING AND EVENING HOURS. DURING THE DAY YOU WILL HAVE TO FISH DEEP WATER BOAT DOCKS AND BRIDGES. LOTS OF SPANISH IN THE HARBOR AND COAST GUARD STATION CHANNELS. LOOK FOR POMPANO, LADYFISH AND HARDTIALS IN THE SURF. TROUT AND REDS ON THE GRASS FLATS OF THE BAY, SPANISH AND BONITO CLOSE TO THE SHORE IN THE GULF AND AROUND SAND BARS. DOLPHIN AND KINGS ARE A LITTLE FUTHER OFSHORE.

Along area beaches you will find pompano, whiting, red fish and black drum. Best baits are fresh peeled shrimp, live or frozen sand fleas and finger mullet. Fishing in the deeper holes and cuts and around the second sand bar will produce more fish, as this will be where the warmer water will be. If you have trouble casting far enough you might consider a Daiwa surf rod 9 to 11 foot and a Daiwa Emblem surf reel filled with 30lb Power Pro or Fins braided line. This combination will give you the ability to reach thefish. For terminal tackle a two-hook bottom rig. A three-ounce five-ounce pyramid lead and Owner Mutu Light circle hook will be appropriate rigging. Fish the warmer part of the day and you should do okay. Around the jetty you will find red fish, black drum, sheepshead, flounder, grouper, and blue fish. Live shrimp, bull minnows and finger mullet make excellent choices of bait. Fish a egg sinker with a two foot fluorocarbon leader. 1-3 ounces should be plenty of weight. Of course, snapper season is closed until mid-April, but that does not mean there is no bottom fishing. Winter is a good time to find grouper on the near shore wrecks and reefs. A egg sinker rig and 6 foot fluorocarbon leader and Owner Mutu circle hook with a 4-10 ounce egg lead will work fine. As for bait, use live pinfish if possible. If not that, then frozen goggle eyes or cigar minnows will work. There are some white snapper, triggerfish, and mingos to be caught on squid. Inshore will be slow with the exception of bonitas, which will take fast trolling feather or tinsel dusters. They also like smaller hard baits like Crystal minnows or Rapalas. If you are adventuresome you can run out to the lumps or rigs and try for yellow fin tuna. They like Ballyhoo, Bullyhoo, small Ilanders or Mold Craft Soft Heads. Trout and reds will be in the creek and river mouths and deep water holes. East river mouth inlet is a good place to look. Live shrimp, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, D.O.A. Shrimp, and a host of flies work good.